532 



Fishery Bulletin 91(3). 1993 



Table 5 



Summary of information available on size/age at maturity in 

 Spanish mackerel, Scomberomorus maculatus. 



Size at maturity 

 (mm FL) 



Age at maturity 

 (yr) 



Study and location 



female 



male female male 



Present study; 

 N. Carolina to 

 SE Florida 



Finucane and Collins 

 (1986); Georgia and 

 Carolinas 



Powell (1975); South 

 Florida, both coasts 



Klima(1959); 

 SE Florida 



288-450 209-336 0-1 



275-424 275-399 



250-320 280-340 



1-? 



'1-2 



'1-2 



'Ages should be reduced by one year I see Powell [19751). 



unable to acquire a sufficient number of specimens at 

 the appropriate time to use their methodology. 



Our conclusions concerning size and age at matu- 

 rity were based on samples solely from the Atlantic 

 migratory group, on ages from sectioned sagittae, and 

 on histological examination of gonad tissue. Most fe- 

 male Spanish mackerel mature at age 1 and at lengths 

 greater than 36cm FL (L m ). The minumum legal length 

 for Spanish mackerel is currently set at 12 inches 

 (30.5 cm) FL by the South Atlantic Fishery Manage- 

 ment Council and most southeastern Atlantic states 

 have adopted the same regulation. Thus, the harvest 

 of age-0 immature females is permitted. Federal and 

 state agencies responsible for the management of 

 Atlantic group Spanish mackerel may wish to re- 

 examine minimum length regulations in light of our 

 results. 



Acknowledgments 



found vitellogenic and/or mature oocytes in >50% of 

 age-1 females sampled in Florida (Atlantic and Gulf 

 coasts) during April through September. Klima (1959), 

 using a macroscopic method, found that unreported 

 percentages of ages 1-2 females and males were ma- 

 ture; however, Powell (1975) concluded that the ages 

 in Klima (1959) should be reduced by one year. Thus, 

 according to Powell ( 1975), the data reported by Klima 

 (1959) showed that some age-0 specimens were ma- 

 ture. We found that more males than females (89% vs. 

 5%) were mature at age 0; most females matured at 

 age 1. 



Our data on the annual reproductive cycle agreed 

 well with previous conclusions based on gonad condi- 

 tion (Beaumariage, 1970; Finucane and Collins, 1986) 

 and on occurrence of larvae (Collins and Stender, 1987). 

 Spawning occurs in Atlantic group females from mid- 

 spring through summer. For males, we concurred with 

 Finucane and Collins (1986) that developing or run- 

 ning ripe males are present from mid-spring through 

 early fall. 



Our method of assessing maturity was less efficient 

 and perhaps less accurate than the method used by 

 Hunter et al. (1992) for Dover sole, Microstomas 

 pacificus. Hunter et al. (1992) collected specimens prior 

 to the spawning period, when oocyte development was 

 at the vitellogenic stage. Ovaries without yolked oo- 

 cytes, postovulatory follicles, or atresia were considered 

 immature. The primary advantages of their method are 

 that specimens are collected over a shorter period of 

 time and that it is not necessary to develop a criterion 

 to distinguish resting and immature females. We were 



We thank Oleg Pashuk and Kathy Grimball for his- 

 tological preparations; Scott Van Sant, Byron White, 

 William Roumillat, Bryan Stone, and SEAMAP 

 project personnel for assisting with specimen acqui- 

 sition and workup; Churchill Grimes and Doug 

 DeVries of the NMFS Panama City (Florida) Labo- 

 ratory for making NMFS samples available; and 

 Charles Schaefer and John Tucker for arranging the 

 purchase and shipping of specimens from Florida. 

 Charles Wenner, George Sedberry, and Churchill 

 Grimes reviewed the manuscript and provided many 

 valuable comments. This work was conducted under 

 a MARMAP contract between the South Carolina 

 Wildlife & Marine Resources Department and the 

 National Marine Fisheries Service. 



Literature cited 



Beaumariage, D. 



1970. Current status of biological investigations of 

 Florida's mackerel fisheries. Proc. Gulf Caribb. Fish. 

 Inst. 22:79-86. 

 Carlander, K. D. 



1982. Standard intercepts for calculating lengths from 

 scale measurements for some centrarchid and percid 

 fishes. Trans. Am. Fish. Soc. 111:332-336. 

 Collins, M. R., and B. W. Stender. 



1987. Larval king mackerel (Scomberomorus cavalla), 

 Spanish mackerel (S. maculatus), and bluefish (Po- 

 matomus saltatrix) off the southeast coast of the 

 United States, 1973-1980. Bull. Mar. Sci. 41:822- 

 834. 



