635 



AbStr3Ct.— The vermilion snapper, 

 Rhomboplites aurorubens, is an impor- 

 tant species in headboat and commer- 

 cial reef fisheries in the southeastern 

 United States, especially in the Caroli- 

 nas. The reproductive biology of vermil- 

 ion snapper was determined from 

 samples collected on biweekly research 

 cruises (April to August 1992 and May 

 1993 ) and from samples collected from 

 commercial vessels (September to April 

 1992-93 ). Vermilion snapper did not ex- 

 hibit a 1:1 sex ratio; 63% of the speci- 

 mens were female. The reproductive 

 season of vermilion snapper is April 

 through late September in the south- 

 eastern United States. All vermilion 

 snapper examined were mature, with 

 the smallest female at 165 mm FL, the 

 smallest male at 179 mm FL. The small- 

 est fish aged ( 165 mm FL) was two years 

 old. Length was the best predictor of 

 batch fecundity (BF=0.0438FL 2 508 ). Ver- 

 milion snapper spawn approximately ev- 

 ery five days or about 35 times a year. 

 Atresia did not significantly affect fe- 

 cundity estimates. Vermilion snapper 

 is an indeterminate spawner; its oo- 

 cytes mature continuously during the 

 spawning season and there is no hia- 

 tus between the size distribution of the 

 oocyte classes. Total fecundity did not 

 decline over the spawning season. 

 Rather, it gradually increased through 

 August and then declined in Septem- 

 ber. Mean oocyte diameter stayed con- 

 stant over the reproductive season. The 

 order of spawning batches was not con- 

 sistent with the determinate fecundity 

 prediction. 



Reproductive seasonality, maturation, 

 fecundity, and spawning frequency 

 of the vermilion snapper, 

 Rhomboplites aurorubens, 

 off the southeastern United States* 



Nicole Cuellar 



Grice Marine Biological Laboratory, University of Charleston 

 205 Fort Johnson Road, Charleston, South Carolina 29412 



George R. Sedberry** 

 David M. Wyanski 



Marine Resources Research Institute 



PO Box 12559, Charleston, South Carolina 29422-2559 



Manuscript accepted 3 April 1996. 

 Fishery Bulletin 94:635-653 ( 1996). 



The vermilion snapper, Rhombo- 

 plites aurorubens, is a small lut- 

 janid distributed from North Caro- 

 lina and Bermuda, through the 

 West Indies and the Gulf of Mexico, 

 and south to southeastern Brazil 

 (Bohlke and Chaplin, 1968). It is 

 associated with two distinct habi- 

 tats on the outer continental shelf 

 near the Carolinas: shelf-edge habi- 

 tat (64-183 m) and inshore "live- 

 bottom" habitat (26-56 m) (Grimes, 

 1976). This lutjanid attains a maxi- 

 mum total length of approximately 

 600 mm (24 in) and a maximum 

 weight of 2.8 kg (6 lb) (Grimes, 

 1978). 



Vermilion snapper is an impor- 

 tant species in the headboat and 

 commercial reef fish fisheries of the 

 Carolinas. Despite an increase in 

 landings in North Carolina, South 

 Carolina, and Georgia from 6.8 met- 

 ric tons (t) (15,000 lbs) in 1988 to 

 499 1 (1.1 million lbs) in 1991, catch 

 per unit of effort (CPUE) exhibited 

 a marked decline (Zhao and McGov- 

 ern 1 ); there was also a significant 

 decrease in mean length of vermil- 

 ion snapper taken by fishery inde- 

 pendent sampling and by headboat 

 and commercial fisheries (Collins 



and Sedberry, 1991; Zhao and Mc- 

 Govern 1 ) over the same period. 



Declines in CPUE and mean size 

 in fishery-independent samples in- 

 dicate that vermilion snapper is 

 overfished (Collins and Sedberry, 

 1991). Owing to the importance of 

 vermilion snapper in the southeast- 

 ern U.S. fisheries, current informa- 

 tion on all aspects of its reproduc- 

 tion is needed to manage the ver- 

 milion snapper fishery effectively. 

 Fecundity and sexual maturity in- 

 formation is essential for manage- 

 ment of any fishery of economic con- 

 sequence to a region (Hunter et al., 

 1992). Fecundity data are needed to 

 calculate a spawning stock ratio 

 (SSR) in annual stock assessments 

 for use in evaluating management 

 regulations. To quantify fecundity 



* Contribution 131 of the Grice Marine 

 Biological Laboratory and Contribution 

 367 of the South Carolina Marine Re- 

 sources Center. 

 ** Author to whom editorial correspondence 

 should be sent. E-mail address: 

 sedberryg@cofc.edu. 

 1 Zhao, B., and J. C. McGovern. 1996. 

 Population characteristics of the vermil- 

 ion snapper, Rhomboplites aurorubens, 

 from the southeastern United States. In 

 preparation. 



