45 



Figure 8-2.— Recreational and 

 commercial reef fish landings 

 from the southeastern U.S. 

 Atlantic coast and the index of 

 abundance (average weight) of 

 gag grouper, 1979-90. 



Figure 8-3.— U.S. reef fish 

 landings from Caribbean waters, 

 1978-89. 



ISSUES 



Proper fish identification is one of several 

 severe problems that complicates the as- 

 sessment of individual reef fish species. 

 Many reef fishes are similar in color, size, 

 shape, etc., and are hard to tell apart. Catch 

 data, therefore, do not reflect the catch by 

 species. Even identifying species caught 

 by anglers is difficult. Aging and other sam- 

 pling techniques are also complicated by 

 identification problems. 



Another problem that affects reef fish 

 stocks is that fish traps catch different 

 species indiscriminately and can continue 



to catch fish even if traps are lost. However, 

 regulations have eliminated traps in some 

 areas. 



Virtually all assessed reef fish stocks are 

 overutilized. Unfortunately, potential pro- 

 duction estimates do not exist and the 

 exact status of most stocks is unknown. 



As fish numbers have dropped, "sequen- 

 tial overharvesting" has occurred, as fish- 

 ermen have shifted their effort to new 

 species. Examples are the move to wreck- 

 fish in the Atlantic or to amberjack in the 

 Gulf and Atlantic from other historically 



