Temporal and Spatial Differences in Life History Parameters of Black Sea Bass in the Southeastern United States

Abstract

During 1978–1998, 80,558 black sea bass Centropristis striata were caught with blackfish and chevron traps off eastern Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina at depths ranging from 9 to 55 m. Black sea bass were found to live for at least 10 years, but most were ages 1–5. There were latitudinal differences in the size at age, significantly larger size at age occurring in the southern segment (31°20′N to 32°40′N) than in the northern segment (32°41′N to 34°00′N). Males were found in all size‐classes and age‐classes and were most frequently encountered at sizes greater than 220 mm standard length (SL) and greater than age 4 in the southern segment and at sizes greater than 240 mm SL and greater than age 5 in the northern segment. Sexual transition and maturity of females occurred at smaller sizes and younger ages in the southern segment than in the northern segment. Probit analysis indicated that between 1978–1982 and 1987–1998 the size at 50% maturity (L50) for females fell from 137 to 108 mm SL in the southern segment and from 145 to 115 mm SL in the northern segment. The L50 could not be determined for fish caught during 1983–1986 because very few immature individuals were collected. Slight increases in the mean length and catch per unit effort, as well as a decrease in fishing mortality during the 1990s, suggested that the condition of the black sea bass stock had improved, probably due to management actions.

Home range and seasonal movements of Black Sea Bass (Centropristis striata) during their inshore residency at a reef in the mid-Atlantic Bight

“…Black Sea Bass are believed to spawn at night (McGovern et al, 2002), and, at the study site, movements during night were less variable than movements observed during other times of the day. Consistent nightly activity levels of Black Sea Bass at the study site indicate that if fi sh spawn at night, spawning may occur near areas used for feeding and shelter.…”

Success and failure assessing gonad maturity in sequentially hermaphroditic fishes: comparisons between macroscopic and microscopic methods

“…Specifically, the performance of microscopic characteristics used to differentiate between mature‐regenerating and immature females, and also traits used to identify fishes as transitional, remains largely unevaluated for accuracy. For this study, a modified version of a histological key developed previously (Harris & McGovern, ; McGovern et al , ) was used. Within that key, mature‐regenerating females are described as possessing one or more characteristics that distinguish them from immature females, including larger primary growth oocytes and larger transverse sections, lamellae that are more elongated and convoluted with muscle or connective tissue bundles and less abundant oogonia along the margin and a thicker ovary wall and traces of atresia.…”

“…data), although notably not Smith () or Moe (). Harris & McGovern's () key has since been used with minor modifications in studies of reproductive biology for a number of other protogynous hermaphrodites (McGovern et al , ; Wyanski et al , ; Harris et al , ; Burgos et al , ), including black sea bass Centropristis striata (L. 1758) (Serranidae; McGovern et al , ). None of these studies include a quantitative comparison of macroscopic and microscopic methods of visual gonad analysis.…”

Age, Growth, Mortality, and Reproduction of Roughtongue Bass, Pronotogrammus martinicensis (Serranidae), in the Northeastern Gulf of Mexico

“…Comparatively, P. martinicensis lives longer (15 yr) than other small serranids [Diplectrum formosum (6 yr), Centropristis striata (7 yr); Bortone, 1971;Hood et al, 1994;McGovern et al, 2002], but has a shorter life span than other, much larger serranids [Epinephelus morio (18 yr), Mycteroperca microlepis (21 yr), Mycteroperca phenax (30 yr), Mycteroperca bonaci (33 yr); Hood and Schlieder, 1992;Johnson and Collins, 1994;Crabtree and Bullock, 1998;Harris et al, 2002]. At the population level, the relative longevity of P. martinicensis may contribute to its high abundance and wide distribution.…”