FISHERY BULLETIN: VOL. 80, NO. 1 



through a seasonal cycle (Fig. 9), indicated that 

 these juveniles were spawned in spring. 



200-, 



SUMMER 1975 



X 



o 

 < 



LU 



X 



en 



UJ 

 CD 



800- 

 700- 

 600- 

 500- 

 400- 

 300- 

 200- 

 100- 



200- 

 100- 



N=4005 



— r 



WINTER 1976 



"1 I T 



"1 — I — r 



X 



1 1 1 — T" 



SPRING 1974 



N = 442 



i — i — i — i — i i — i — i — i — i — i — i — r 



2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 



FISH LENGTH (cm) 



Figure 9.— Length-frequency distributions (FL) from the 

 total catch of tomtates between Cape Fear and Cape Canaveral 

 during each of four seasons. 



DISCUSSION 



Distribution and Abundance 



Tomtates are considered abundant in several 

 habitats in and to the south of the South Atlantic 

 Bight, and indicate daily movements between 

 habitats. Within the Bight, tomtates were com- 

 mon over both live-bottom and shelf-edge habi- 

 tats during earlier (1959-64) exploratory fishing 

 (Struhsaker 1969). Farther south, tomtates were 

 found over broad sandy areas off southern Flor- 

 ida (Craig 1976), near coral stacks in the Tor- 

 tugas Islands (Longley and Hildebrand 1941), 

 and in grass beds and other open areas in the 

 Bahamas (Bohlke and Chaplin 1968). Tomtates 

 were common from nearshore to the offshore 

 reefs in Florida and were abundant on the 

 shrimp grounds of the Dry Tortugas and the Gulf 

 of Mexico (Courtenay 1961). In the Virgin 



Islands, changes in distribution with respect to 

 habitat type were associated with feeding be- 

 havior. Tomtates feed as individuals or in small 

 schools at night over open sand (Collette and Tal- 

 bot 1972), and they spend the day on the reef 

 segregated into size groups; juveniles school over 

 the highest part of the reef, while adults hover 

 low between the coral colonies (Smith and Tyler 

 1972). 



Juvenile tomtates may occur in several habi- 

 tats, either inshore or offshore, which include 

 "live bottom" and rocky outcrops similar to those 

 occupied by adults. Small tomtates (*«33 mm) 

 were abundant over artificial reefs (Parker et al. 

 1979) and natural ridges in spring through fall 

 off the Carolinas and have been found in the 

 mouths and stomachs of black sea bass in the 

 same areas (Parker 8 ). Young tomtates also fre- 

 quent grass beds (Randall 1968), subtidal mud 

 flats (Reid 1954), and nearshore areas around 

 wharfs (Jordan and Evermann 1896). The pres- 

 ence of young fish among spines of sea urchins 

 (Johnson 1978) suggests that microhabitats may 

 be important to the survival of some early life 

 stages. Juveniles of French grunts, H. flavolin- 

 eatum, and white grunts, H. plumieri, form large 

 multispecies schools closely associated with par- 

 ticular coral formations (microhabitats) during 

 the day and follow precise routes (>100 m) to and 

 from feeding areas (sea grass beds) at night 

 (Ogden and Ehrlich 1977). 



Biomass and standing stock calculations for 

 tomtate from groundfish trawling were consid- 

 ered preliminary, minimal estimates. More 

 satisfactory estimates should incorporate infor- 

 mation on 1) abundance/biomass sampling con- 

 ducted completely within a known area of a 

 given habitat type, 2) the correct proportional 

 allocation of a day/night catch factor for each 

 habitat sampled, 3) the vulnerability of tomtate 

 to the sampling gear, and 4) estimates of biomass 

 from untrawlable, rocky outcrop, habitats. Un- 

 fortunately, none of the above information is 

 available at present, so our estimates were based 

 upon continuous day/night sampling imposed on 

 the very random nature of sponge-coral habitat 

 distribution. Discrete, short duration trawling 

 completely within the boundaries of the patchy 

 sponge-coral habitats could be directed by pre- 

 trawl bottom mapping with underwater TV 



8 R. 0. Parker, Southeast Fisheries Center Beaufort Labora- 

 tory, National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA, Beaufort, NC 

 28516, pers. commun. January 1978. 



14 



