424 



Fishery Bulletin 103(2) 



The data collected in these studies did not allow the 

 analysis of the aggregation pattern of E. oculatus. In 

 the Pacific, E. coruscans was found to form feeding ag- 

 gregations near underwater promontories and these ag- 

 gregations had important consequences for catchability 

 (Ralston et al., 1986). For the deeper living alfonsinos 

 (Beryx spp.) and orange roughy (Hoplostethus atlanti- 

 cus), fisheries have shown their ability to quickly fish 

 down aggregations once they are discovered (Lorance 

 and Dupouy, 2001). Added to "K-selected" life-history 

 strategies (high longevity, slow growth, late reproduc- 

 tion) and irregular recruitment, this aggregating behav- 

 ior reinforces the vulnerability of deepwater species to 

 overfishing (Koslow et al., 2000). 



Recently gained knowledge about the exploitation of 

 seamount and deep bank fish resources (Clark, 2001) 

 cannot be applied directly to E. oculatus and the other 

 slope-dwelling snappers which, although they are the 

 deepest dwelling species of the family, are much closer 

 in terms of demographic strategy to their shallow rela- 

 tives (longevity 10-20 years; Manooch, 1987) than to 

 these truly deep species (longevity 50 to more than 100 

 years; Koslow et al., 2000). However, less extreme life 

 history traits do not protect deep snappers against over- 

 fishing, as shown by the example of E. coruscans and 

 E. carbunculus in Hawaii (Simonds, 1995). The limited 

 fishery data available on E. oculatus in the Caribbean 

 do not seem to show evidence of a similar situation so 

 far, but the stocks are being increasingly fished without 

 much scientific basis (i.e., catch statistics) for manage- 

 ment (Mahon, 1990; FAO, 1993). Regulation measures 

 continue to be defined (Diaz et al., in press), but so far 

 they are based only on conservative rules of thumb 

 because of a lack of reliable biological information. To 

 address this lack of information, future research on E. 

 oculatus therefore should address, in particular, sex- 

 specific growth, reproductive biology, and fine-scale 

 distribution patterns. 



Acknowledgments 



The data presented here were collected and processed 

 with the help of many people; the authors particularly 

 wish to thank E. Burgos, T. and J. Chapelle, R Galera, 

 J. Grelot, A. Lagin, P. Lespagnol, L. Reynal, J. Robin, 

 B. Seret, and the Chief Fisheries Officers of Dominica 

 and Saint-Lucia. 



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