Hostetter and Munroe: Age, growth, and reproduction of Tautoga onitis 



since the recreational fishery is the primary harvester 

 of tautog. A minimum size limit of approximately 

 300mmTL (12 in.) is recommended for fish taken by 

 recreational or commercial fisheries to insure that all 

 females have at least one opportunity to spawn before 

 being harvested (Briggs 1977). Imposing a 12 in. size 

 limit for tautog should also insure the maintenance of 

 a quality recreational fishery. Currently, a 12 in. mini- 

 mum size limit is required for tautog taken by recre- 

 ational and commercial fishermen in Rhode Island, 

 Massachusetts, and Connecticut waters. 



To maximize any management plan for this species, 

 it is also critical that the reproductive biology of tau- 

 tog be well understood. Directed fishing pressure, dis- 

 ruptive to size or sex ratios by the selective removal of 

 dominant pair-spawning males (usually larger indi- 

 viduals), could affect reproductive success in localized 

 populations. Musick & Mercer (1977) concluded that 

 heavy fishing pressure on black sea bass Centropristes 

 striata may impact reproduction through changes in 

 sex ratios in the population. 



Tautog populations in Virginia and elsewhere can 

 also be enhanced by continued development of artifi- 

 cial reefs (Feigenbaum & Blair 1986). Reef develop- 

 ment is especially important in Virginia since suit- 

 able, naturally-occurring substrate appears to be 

 limited both in size and occurrence. Placement of arti- 

 ficial structures over wide geographic areas also dis- 

 perses fishing pressure, since competition for fishing 

 space on presently-available isolated wrecks can at 

 times be intense. 



Acknowledgments 



Portions of this study comprised an M.S. thesis (by the 

 first author) presented to the Biology Department, Old 

 Dominion University (ODU). Data collected by the sec- 

 ond author comprised a graduate research project at 

 the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS). We 

 thank M. Armstrong, H. Brooks, M. Bucy, R. Crabtree, 

 J. Colvocoresses, J. Desfosse, D. Estes, L. Gillingham, 

 M. Harrel, M. Hodges, A. Hodges, K. Hodges, 

 J. Lascara, J. Musick, B. Parolari, I. B. Ratnose, 

 G. Sedberry, J. Smith, S. Smith, T. Sminkey, 

 G. Susewind, W. Susewind, J. Sypeck, D. Thoney, 

 G. van Hausen, and D. Wright for assisting with field 

 collections, data gathering, and providing specimens. 

 C. Hostetter provided much encouragement during 

 early phases of this study R. Birdsong served as the- 

 sis advisor and provided much encouragement and sup- 

 port while the senior author attended Old Dominion 

 University. J. Merriner (formerly VIMS) and H. Aus- 

 tin (VIMS) arranged funding for the second author to 

 intercept fishermen and work up catches. D. Munroe 



funded frequent purchases of large quantities of tau- 

 tog from commercial fishermen. Students and staff at 

 VIMS purchased eviscerated carcasses after sampling, 

 thereby regenerating funds critical for additional pur- 

 chases of samples. E. Barth, VMRC, provided fishery 

 data on tautog in Virginia. Members of the Peninsula 

 Saltwater Fishing Club provided specimens and 

 sportfishery information. J. Stephens collected many 

 large tautog in his commercial fishpot catches that 

 enhanced this study. D. Hata and J. Loesch (VIMS), 

 and D. Schmidt and G. Sedberry (Marine Resources 

 Research Institute, Charleston, SC) assisted with com- 

 puter analyses. G. Anderson (VIMS), H.P Jeffries (Uni- 

 versity of Rhode Island), and D.G. Mountain (NMFS, 

 Woods Hole) provided water temperature data. D. Mar- 

 tin and T Targett (University of Delaware) provided 

 information on laboratory growth experiments of juve- 

 nile tautog. J. Howe, J. Nestlerode, M. Nizinski, T. 

 Orrell, B. Parolari, K. Rhyu, and J. Vieira assisted 

 with figure preparation. D. Vaughan (NMFS, Beau- 

 fort) provided a critical reference. Earlier drafts of this 

 manuscript benefited from comments by H. Austin, 

 R. Birdsong, P. Briggs, B. Collette, D. Dauer, J. 

 Merriner, J. Musick, R. Rose, and J. Smith. 



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