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Changes in the Age Structure of Nearshore Adult Red Drum off West‐Central Florida Related to Recruitment and Fishing Mortality
Author(s) -
Murphy Michael D.,
Crabtree Roy E.
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
north american journal of fisheries management
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.587
H-Index - 72
eISSN - 1548-8675
pISSN - 0275-5947
DOI - 10.1577/1548-8675(2001)021<0671:citaso>2.0.co;2
Subject(s) - drum , juvenile , fishing , age structure , population , population structure , fishery , abundance (ecology) , biology , geography , ecology , demography , archaeology , sociology
We examined the age structure of a population of adult red drum Sciaenops ocellatus in the eastern Gulf of Mexico to determine whether management‐mediated changes in juvenile and subadult survival rates during the mid‐1980s are now evident in the population's age structure. During 1996–1998, we sampled 908 adult red drum from seven different schools; six schools were sampled during September–October, and one was sampled during February. No significant difference was detected in year‐class frequencies between schools. Red drum ranged in total length from 685 to 1,085 mm and in age from 3 to 29 years. Strong year‐classes in 1986 and 1989 and weaker year‐classes in 1987 and 1988 were observed in all samples. The increased abundance of adult red drum in observed age distributions correlated well with the abrupt decrease in juvenile red drum harvest in Florida that occurred during the mid‐ to late 1980s. Ever since the red drum harvest was reduced, the strong year‐classes detected through age‐0 sampling appear later in the adult population. The relative age structure of adult red drum in the eastern Gulf of Mexico can be a useful index of changes in adjacent inshore fishing pressure.