ABUNDANCE AND POTENTIAL YIELD OF THE SCALED SARDINE, 



HARENGVLA JAGUANA, AND ASPECTS OF 



ITS EARLY LIFE HISTORY IN THE EASTERN GULF OF MEXICO 1 



Edward D. Houde 2 



ABSTRACT 



Eggs and larvae of the scaled sardine, Harengulajaguana, were collected in 1971-74 from the eastern 

 Gulf of Mexico to determine spawning seasons, spawning areas, adult biomass, and fisheries potential. 

 Aspects of the early life history of the species also were studied. Spawning occurred from January to 

 September, but was most intense from May to August, when surface temperatures ranged from 20.8° to 

 30.7°C and surface salinities were 29.9 to 36.9%o. All spawning occurred between the coast and the 

 30-m depth contour, mostly within 50 km of the coast. The biomass of scaled sardines, based on annual 

 spawning estimates, apparently increased from 1971 to 1973, the mean estimate for the 3 yr being 

 184,527 metric tons. Potential yield estimates, based on the 3-yr mean biomass, ranged from 46,000 to 

 92,000 metric tons. Larval abundance and mortality rates were estimated from 1973 data. More than 

 99. 9^ mortality occurred between time of spawning and attainment of 15.5 mm standard length at 

 20 days of age. Comparisons were made of scaled sardine distribution, abundance, potential yield, and 

 larval mortality with those of other eastern Gulf clupeids. 



Scaled sardine, Harengulajaguana Po-ey, is abun- 

 dant in coastal waters of the western Atlantic 

 from New Jersey to Santos, Brazil, including 

 the Gulf of Mexico (Berry 1964). It is common 

 from Florida to Brazil (Rivas 1963), but there are 

 no large-scale directed fisheries for the species. 

 Klima (1971) reported it to be an abundant, 

 surface-schooling species that is usually found 

 within the 20-fathom curve in the northeastern 

 Gulf of Mexico. It is one of the most common 

 species in Gulf Coast estuaries (Gunter 1945; 

 Springer and Woodburn 1960; Roessler 1970). 

 Because of its abundance, it is an important latent 

 fishery resource in the Gulf of Mexico and Carib- 

 bean region (Reintjes and June 1961; Bullis and 

 Thompson 1970; Klima 1971). Small catches of 

 Harengula spp. totalling 2,189 metric tons in 1974 

 presently are landed by Cuba, Brazil, and the 

 Dominican Republic (Food and Agriculture Or- 

 ganization 1975). No reported catches are made 

 by the United States, but a small amount, prob- 

 ably less than 500 tons annually, is landed in 

 Florida for bait in commecial and recreational 

 fishing. 



Some aspects of the biology of scaled sardines 

 are known. Low (1973) discussed the species and 

 its occurrence in Biscayne Bay, Fla., including 

 food habits and juvenile growth rates. Fecundity, 

 size at maturity, and spawning were reported by 

 Martinez and Houde (1975). Roessler (1970) dis- 

 cussed growth, recruitment, and the relationship 

 of environmental factors to scaled sardine abun- 

 dance in an Everglades estuary, and Springer 

 and Woodburn (1960) discussed its ecology in 

 Tampa Bay. Eggs and larvae have been described 

 by Matsuura (1972), Houde and Fore (1973), 

 Houde et al. (1974), and Gorbunova and Zvyagina 

 (1975). 



Objectives of this study were to estimate scaled 

 sardine biomass and fishery potential in the east- 

 ern Gulf of Mexico from the distribution and abun- 

 dance of its eggs and larvae. Information on the 

 early life history also was obtained. Similar 

 studies on round herring, Etrumeus teres, and 

 thread herring, Opisthonema oglinum, were re- 

 cently published (Houde 1976, 1977a, b). 



METHODS 



'This is a contribution from the Rosenstiel School of Marine 

 and Atmospheric Science, University of Miami, Miami, Fla. 



2 Di vision of Biology and Living Resources, Rosenstiel School 

 of Marine and Atmospheric Science, University of Miami, 

 4600 Rickenbacker Causeway, Miami, FL 33149. 



Methods to determine scaled sardine biomass 

 and fisheries potential are the same as those used 

 for round herring and thread herring (Houde 

 1977a, b). Collecting methods were described 

 (Houde 1977a), and summarized station data from 



Manuscript accepted November 1976. 

 FISHERY BULLETIN: VOL. 75, NO. 3, 1977. 



613 



