Tremain et al.: Sportfish species movements in relation to an estuarine no-take zone 



539 



jack — were documented to migrate out of the protected 

 area. Johnson et al. (1999) and Stevens and Sulak (2001) 

 also observed many of these same species emigrat- 

 ing from no-take zones within the same refuge system 

 during the late 1980s, although the species with the 

 highest recapture rates in their studies (common snook) 

 differed from the current study (red drum). This differ- 

 ence may reflect an increase in the popularity of the red 

 drum fishery on Florida's east coast during the current 

 study period. Since 1989, when the recreational red 

 drum fishery reopened under strict management regula- 

 tions, there has been a significant increase in both the 

 total red drum landings on the Atlantic coast and in the 

 estimated number of fishing trips made by anglers seek- 

 ing or catching red drum each year (Murphy 2 ). Tagging 

 studies in estuarine areas of the Everglades National 

 Park have previously documented emigrations of striped 

 mullet (Mugil cephalus), gray snapper (Lutjanus gri- 

 seus), and spotted seatrout away from protected habitats 

 (Bryant et al., 1989; Funicelli et al., 1989). Recent stud- 

 ies suggest that fish moving out of protected areas in 

 the IRL may help to replenish nearby fisheries and may 

 contribute to trophy fisheries in the surrounding system 

 (Johnson et al., 1999; Roberts et al., 2001). 



In our study, overall emigration rates were low, but 

 many of the fish that emigrated from the estuarine NTZ 

 moved comparatively large distances. The egress pat- 

 terns of exploitable species may affect both the species' 

 potential for protection and the degree to which fisheries 

 located adjacent to protected reserves will be enhanced 

 (DeMartini, 1993). In coastal marine and tropical reef 

 systems, where the large majority of reserves have been 

 established, long-distance movements greater than a 



2 Murphy, M. D. 2002. A stock assessment of red drum. 

 Seiaenops ocellatus, in Florida: status of the stocks through 

 2000, 32 p. Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Com- 

 mission Report, Melbourne, FL. 



few kilometers by demersal fishery species are limited 

 to a very small percentage of individuals (Beaumar- 

 iage, 1969; PDT, 1990 and references therein; Rowley, 

 1994), and the direct supplementation of nearby fisher- 

 ies by exploitable species appears to be highly localized 

 (Buxton and Allen, 1989; Russ and Alcala, 1996). The 

 majority of fish that emigrated from the NTZ were 

 recaptured between 10 and 75 km from the boundary, 

 but fish were also recovered as far as 150 km from the 

 NTZ boundary. Our observations on migration distances 

 and recapture locations corresponded well with those 

 reported from previous studies of fish movements out 

 of this same reserve system (Johnson et al., 1999; Ste- 

 vens and Sulak, 2001). although maximum recapture 

 distances in earlier studies were even greater. 



Many of the fish that emigrated from the NTZ — such 

 as red drum, common snook, and sheepshead — were 

 recaptured at inlet locations or in the nearshore coastal 

 waters at sizes that were large enough to include re- 

 productively mature adults (Murphy and Taylor, 1990; 

 Render and Wilson, 1992; Taylor et al., 2000). The 

 seasonality of inlet-associated recaptures was consistent 

 with the seasonality of documented spawning and move- 

 ment patterns for these species. In Florida, red drum 

 typically spawn in nearshore coastal waters during 

 the fall (Murphy and Taylor, 1990), although spawning 

 within the IRL has also been documented (Johnson 

 and Funicelli, 1991). Spawning by common snook may 

 occur year-round on Florida's east coast (Gilmore et al., 

 1983), but most spawning takes place between May and 

 October in or near major inlets to the Atlantic Ocean 

 (Taylor et al., 1998). The limited number of common 

 snook recaptured from inlet spawning habitats dur- 

 ing the peak summer spawning season (June-August) 

 was likely due to the fishery being closed during those 

 months. Sheepshead move offshore with the onset of 

 cool weather in the late fall (Gunter, 1945; Kelly, 1965), 

 and spawning likely occurs in offshore waters during 



