DISTRIBUTION, ABUNDANCE, AND AGE AND GROWTH OF THE 



TOMTATE, HAEMULON AUROLINEATUM, ALONG THE 



SOUTHEASTERN UNITED STATES COAST 1 



Charles S. Manooch III 2 and Charles A. Barans 3 



ABSTRACT 



Tomtates, Haemulon aurolineatum, were widely distributed over sponge-coral habitats throughout 

 the South Atlantic Bight region in depths of 9 to 55 m, although they were occasionally caught in 

 large numbers over sandy bottom habitats. Fish were most common in offshore areas during winter 

 and were not taken in waters of <10°C south of Cape Fear, N.C. Juveniles (<148 mm TL) were 

 caught in the same geographical areas as adults, but were collected in warmer waters than adults 

 during fall and winter. Spawning occurred during the spring. 



Individuals collected by hook and line and trawl were aged by scales and otoliths. Back-calculated 

 mean total lengths were from 103.0 mm at age I, to 280.5 at age IX. The von Bertalanffy growth 

 equation is I, =310(1 -exp - 0.22017 (t + 1.28)), where t is age in years, and /, is total length at age. 

 The oldest fish sampled was age IX, 289 mm TL. Annual total mortality based on catch curves from 

 1,496 fish landed by the recreational fishery from 1972 to 1978 was 59% (instantaneous total annual 

 mortality = 0.89). We found that the tomtate grows faster, does not live as long, and has a higher 

 natural mortality rate than most other reef fishes previously studied in the South Atlantic Bight. 



The tomtate, Haemulon aurolineatum, is a small 

 grunt (Haemulidae), which occurs from Cape 

 Cod, Mass., to Brazil, including the Caribbean, 

 Gulf of Mexico, and Central American coast. The 

 species, previously referred to as Bathystoma 

 rimator, B. aurolineatum, and Haemulon rima- 

 tor (Courtenay 1961), is known vernacularly as 

 xira in Brazil; cuji in Venezuela; rancho, juez, 

 and chankay in Mexico; and mulita, mula, mari- 

 quita, and maruca in Puerto Rico. 



The tomtate is taken primarily by hook and 

 line off the southeastern United States and by 

 traps, hook and line, and trawl in the more south- 

 ern areas of its range. Unfortunately, commer- 

 cial landings of tomtates in the United States are 

 reported in the collective term "grunts," which 

 includes many different species of the family and 

 therefore precludes species identifications that 

 are needed for fishery management. A Soviet- 

 Cuban cooperative fisheries research program 

 on the Campeche Banks revealed the tomtate as 



'Contribution No. 192, Southeast Fisheries Center Beau- 

 fort Laboratory, National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA; 

 No. 189, MARMAP Program; No. 127, South Carolina Marine 

 Resources Center, Marine Resources Institute. 



2 Southeast Fisheries Center Beaufort Laboratory, National 

 Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA, Beaufort, NC 28516. 



3 South Carolina Wildlife and Marine Resources Depart- 

 ment, Marine Resources Research Institute, Charleston, SC 

 29412. 



the main demersal species caught by trawl from 

 1962 to 1972 (Sokolova 1969; Sauskan and Olae- 

 chea 1974). Also, exploratory trawling off South 

 Carolina found large quantities of tomtates 

 (Wenner et al. 1979a). 



Recreational headboat 4 fishermen fishing 

 from North Carolina to Cape Canaveral, Fla., 

 caught an average of 23.2 t (metric tons) of tom- 

 tates in 1976 and 1977 (Dixon 5 ). This species was 

 the most commonly caught haemuline, although 

 second in weight landed to the white grunt, 

 Haemulon plumieri. 



In this paper we describe the relative abun- 

 dance, spatial and temporal distributions, 

 spawning, age, growth, and mortality for tom- 

 tates along the southeastern United States. 



METHODS 



Distribution and Relative Abundance 



Eight groundfish survey cruises spanning all 

 four seasons (Table 1 ) were conducted on the con- 



4 A boat for hire where anglers are charged on a per person 

 basis. 



6 R. L. Dixon, Southeast Fisheries Center Beaufort Labora- 

 tory, NMFS, NOAA, Beaufort, NC 28516, pers. commun. Jan- 

 uary 1978. 



Manuscript accepted September 1981. 

 FISHERY BULLETIN: VOL. 80, NO. 1, 1982. 



