Abstract
Much of the uncertainty in managing highly migratory pelagic species results from the scarcity of fisheries-independent data relevant to determining long-term trends in abundance, migratory movements, and the relative importance of different spawning grounds. To address these issues, we used an ichthyoplankton-based method to quantify the overall level of spawning of sailfish (Istiophorus platypterus) and blue marlin (Makaira nigricans) in the Straits of Florida (SF). We estimated that during the 2 years (2003-2004) of the study, 4.60 × 1011 sailfish eggs and 4.49 × 10 11 blue marlin eggs were produced on an annual basis in this region. These egg production values, when combined with estimates of annual fecundity for each species and the most recent stock assessment estimate of total biomass, indicate that about 2.1% of Western Atlantic sailfish spawning and 1.6% of Atlantic-wide blue marlin spawning occurs in the SF. Additionally, pop-up satellite tags deployed on sailfish at the start of the spawning season revealed their short residency times in the SF, suggesting that a large (≈13%) transient portion of the sailfish population is responsible for the SF egg production. Overall, this study provides a critically needed fisheries-independent method of quantifying spatial and temporal trends in the abundance of highly migratory species. The application of this methodology in the SF indicated that above-average levels of sailfish and blue marlin spawning occur in this area and, possibly more importantly, that the SF is a migratory bottleneck for these species.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 402-418 |
| Number of pages | 17 |
| Journal | Fisheries Oceanography |
| Volume | 18 |
| Issue number | 6 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Nov 1 2009 |
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Keywords
- Billfish
- Egg production
- Fisheries-independent index
- Larval growth
- Larval mortality
- Migratory bottleneck
- Pop-up satellite archival tag
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Aquatic Science
- Oceanography
Cite this
Importance of the Straits of Florida spawning ground to Atlantic sailfish (Istiophorus platypterus) and blue marlin (Makaira nigricans). / Richardson, David E.; Cowen, Robert K.; Prince, Eric D.; Sponaugle, Su.
In: Fisheries Oceanography, Vol. 18, No. 6, 01.11.2009, p. 402-418.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Importance of the Straits of Florida spawning ground to Atlantic sailfish (Istiophorus platypterus) and blue marlin (Makaira nigricans)
AU - Richardson, David E.
AU - Cowen, Robert K.
AU - Prince, Eric D.
AU - Sponaugle, Su
PY - 2009/11/1
Y1 - 2009/11/1
N2 - Much of the uncertainty in managing highly migratory pelagic species results from the scarcity of fisheries-independent data relevant to determining long-term trends in abundance, migratory movements, and the relative importance of different spawning grounds. To address these issues, we used an ichthyoplankton-based method to quantify the overall level of spawning of sailfish (Istiophorus platypterus) and blue marlin (Makaira nigricans) in the Straits of Florida (SF). We estimated that during the 2 years (2003-2004) of the study, 4.60 × 1011 sailfish eggs and 4.49 × 10 11 blue marlin eggs were produced on an annual basis in this region. These egg production values, when combined with estimates of annual fecundity for each species and the most recent stock assessment estimate of total biomass, indicate that about 2.1% of Western Atlantic sailfish spawning and 1.6% of Atlantic-wide blue marlin spawning occurs in the SF. Additionally, pop-up satellite tags deployed on sailfish at the start of the spawning season revealed their short residency times in the SF, suggesting that a large (≈13%) transient portion of the sailfish population is responsible for the SF egg production. Overall, this study provides a critically needed fisheries-independent method of quantifying spatial and temporal trends in the abundance of highly migratory species. The application of this methodology in the SF indicated that above-average levels of sailfish and blue marlin spawning occur in this area and, possibly more importantly, that the SF is a migratory bottleneck for these species.
AB - Much of the uncertainty in managing highly migratory pelagic species results from the scarcity of fisheries-independent data relevant to determining long-term trends in abundance, migratory movements, and the relative importance of different spawning grounds. To address these issues, we used an ichthyoplankton-based method to quantify the overall level of spawning of sailfish (Istiophorus platypterus) and blue marlin (Makaira nigricans) in the Straits of Florida (SF). We estimated that during the 2 years (2003-2004) of the study, 4.60 × 1011 sailfish eggs and 4.49 × 10 11 blue marlin eggs were produced on an annual basis in this region. These egg production values, when combined with estimates of annual fecundity for each species and the most recent stock assessment estimate of total biomass, indicate that about 2.1% of Western Atlantic sailfish spawning and 1.6% of Atlantic-wide blue marlin spawning occurs in the SF. Additionally, pop-up satellite tags deployed on sailfish at the start of the spawning season revealed their short residency times in the SF, suggesting that a large (≈13%) transient portion of the sailfish population is responsible for the SF egg production. Overall, this study provides a critically needed fisheries-independent method of quantifying spatial and temporal trends in the abundance of highly migratory species. The application of this methodology in the SF indicated that above-average levels of sailfish and blue marlin spawning occur in this area and, possibly more importantly, that the SF is a migratory bottleneck for these species.
KW - Billfish
KW - Egg production
KW - Fisheries-independent index
KW - Larval growth
KW - Larval mortality
KW - Migratory bottleneck
KW - Pop-up satellite archival tag
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=70349921470&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=70349921470&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1111/j.1365-2419.2009.00520.x
DO - 10.1111/j.1365-2419.2009.00520.x
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:70349921470
VL - 18
SP - 402
EP - 418
JO - Fisheries Oceanography
JF - Fisheries Oceanography
SN - 1054-6006
IS - 6
ER -