732 
Abstract. -Aspects of the life his- 
tory of red porgy from the South Atlan- 
tic Bight (SAB) were examined for four 
periods (1972-74, 1979-81, 1988-90, 
and 1991-94), and annual changes in 
the age and growth of red porgy were 
described for data collected during 
1988-94. The life history of red porgy 
during 1972-74 was assumed to repre- 
sent that of an unfished population, al- 
though this population had been sub- 
ject to light fishing pressure. From 
1972-74 to 1979-81, the back-calcu- 
lated size-at-age increased slightly for 
ages 2-8. By 1988-90 and 1991-94, 
however, the back-calculated size-at- 
age for the same age classes was sig- 
nificantly smaller than that in 1979- 
81. In addition, size-at-maturity and 
size-at-sexual-transition occurred at 
progressively smaller sizes for 1988-90 
and 1991-94. The mean size-at-age (ob- 
served and back-calculated) declined 
for most ages between 1988 and 1994. 
Von Bertalanffy growth curves fitted to 
the mean back-calculated size-at-age 
for each year showed similar decreas- 
ing trends. Changes in life history may 
be a response to sustained 20-year 
overexploitation that has selectively 
removed individuals predisposed to- 
wards rapid growth and larger size. 
Manuscript accepted 28 May 1997. 
Fishery Bulletin 95:732-747 (1997). 
Changes in the life history of red 
porgy, Pagrus pagrus, from the 
southeastern United States, 
1972 - 1994 * 
Patrick J. Harris 
John C. McGovern 
South Carolina Department of Natural Resources 
PO Box 12559, Charleston, South Carolina 29422 
E-mail address (for P Harris): harrisp@mrd. dnr.state.se. us 
The red porgy, Pagrus pagrus, is a 
protogynous sparid distributed 
throughout the Atlantic Ocean and 
Mediterranean Sea at depths of 18 
to 280 m (Manooch and Hassler, 
1978; Vassilopoulou and Papacon- 
stantinou, 1992). In the South At- 
lantic Bight (SAB) off the southeast- 
ern coast of the United States, red 
porgy are commonly associated with 
sponge or coral habitat (or both) 
with rocky outcrops and rocky 
ledges (Grimes et al., 1982), fre- 
quently referred to as “live bottom.” 
Areas of live bottom are distributed 
patchily throughout the SAB, and 
patch size can range from square 
meters to square kilometers (Powles 
and Barans, 1980). Nevertheless, 
red porgy in the SAB are thought to 
constitute a single stock (Manooch 
and Huntsman, 1977). 
Red porgy are an important seg- 
ment of the commercial fisheries of 
the SAB, averaging 6% of the snap- 
per-grouper landings since 1978 
(SAFMC * 1 ). Similarly, red porgy 
make up a considerable portion of 
the recreational harvest of reef 
fishes in the SAB (Huntsman et 
al. 2 ). The fishery for red porgy in 
the SAB has, however, experienced 
a serious decline in landings since 
1982 (Vaughan et al., 1992; Hunts- 
man et al. 2 ), as well as a decline in 
fishery-independent catch per unit 
of effort (CPUE) (Fig. 1). Estimates 
of stock size derived from virtual 
population analysis (VPA) showed 
a peak population size in 1975 and 
a steady decline through 1992 
(Vaughan et al., 1992; Huntsman et 
al. 2 ). Although estimates of stock 
size derived from fishery-indepen- 
dent CPUE for 1993-1995 suggest 
a slight population recovery (Har- 
ris, personal obs.), the spawning 
stock ratio, estimated at 18% in 
1993, is still considerably below the 
30% level used by the South Atlan- 
tic Fishery Management Council to 
define when a species is overfished 
(Huntsman et al. 2 ). 
Apart from a size limit instituted 
in 1992, management of the fishery 
has remained essentially unchanged, 
in spite of an apparent continual de- 
cline of the resource. The ability of 
fishermen to locate good fishing ar- 
eas (i.e. patches of live bottom) pre- 
cisely using LORAN-C and Global 
Positioning Systems technology and 
* Contribution number 394 of the South 
Carolina Marine Resources Center, Charles- 
ton, SC 29422 
1 SAFMC. 1991. Amendment 4, regulatory 
impact review and final environmental im- 
pact statement for the snapper grouper fish- 
ery of the South Atlantic Region. South 
Atlantic Fishery Management Council, 1 South 
Park Circle, Charleston, SC, 225 p. 
2 Huntsman, G. R., D. S. Vaughan, and J. 
C. Potts. 1993. Trends in population 
status of the red porgy Pagrus pagrus in 
the Atlantic Ocean of North Carolina and 
South Carolina, USA, 1971-1992. South 
Atlantic Fishery Management Council, 1 
South Park Circle, Charleston, SC 29422. 
