Ault, J. S., Smith, S. G., Bohnsack, J. A.

Evaluation of average length as an indicator of exploitation status for the Florida coral reef fish community

2005

ICES Journal of Marine Science

62

3

417-423

Simulation and empirical analyses were conducted to evaluate the utility and robustness of average length (Lbar) of animals in the exploited population as an estimator of fishing mortality (F), and therefore as an indicator of exploitation status for Florida coral-reef fish. Simulation results showed that the Lbar estimator of fishing mortality was relatively insensitive to trends in recruitment, and demonstrated favourable properties for detecting statistical differences between sustainable and non-sustainable rates of exploitation. Rates of F estimated from fishery-dependent size composition data were comparable to F estimates from catch-and-effort time-series. Average length was also estimated from fishery-independent diver surveys for 22 species in the exploited snapper-grouper complex.

average size, coral-reef fish, exploitation, Florida Keys

10.1016/j.icesjms.2004.12.001

FY2003 CRCP Project ID 1064; Project Title: Assess and Monitor Coral Reef MPAs; Principal Investigator: James Bohnsack. ASFA