296 
Fishery Bulletin 109(3) 
tions were significantly different (D = 0.37, PcO.OOl), 
with mean ages differing by one year (Fig. 2B). Red 
porgy aged seven and older represented a small portion 
of the catch for both legal- and sublegal-size fish, and 
the average age of legal-size fish was 4.5 years (±1.61 
standard deviation [SD)]). Mean age at sublegal size 
was significantly different from mean age (F= 369.68, 
P<0.001, df=l) at legal size and proportions within 
each age class were significantly different (% 2 values 
between 7.35 and 123.60, P values between 0.006 and 
<0.001, df=l). Sublegal-size red porgy consistently had 
significantly smaller sizes at age for all comparable 
(n > 3 per classification) age classes ( F values between 
11.85 and 1078.56, P values between 0.002 and <0.001, 
df=l; Fig. 3B). 
Sex and maturity status were assigned to 1894 red 
porgy (955 males and 939 females). Sex ratios were 
significantly different from 1:1 (legal-size fish ^ 2 =15.6, 
P<0.001, df=l and sublegal-size fish ^=29.6, P<0.001, 
df=l). As expected for a protogynous species, sex ratios 
for sublegal-size red porgy favored females (1:1.43) and 
for legal-size red porgy, ratios favored males (1:0.77). 
Sex ratios by age classes were not significantly dif- 
ferent, except for age five (legal-size fish 1:0.64 and 
sublegal-size fish 1:1.24; ^ 2 =7.80, P=0.005, 
df=l). Because of the limited number of im- 
mature females (n = 23; 1.1%), size at matu- 
rity estimates could not be determined. The 
two immature legal-size red porgy were both 
four years old, and the remaining immature 
sublegal red porgy (n= 21) were between one 
and five years old (Table 3). Immature female 
lengths ranged between 150 and 346 mm FL 
(Table 4). Sexually transitioning red porgy 
(n= 266) were between zero and eight years old, 
of which 144 were sublegal-size and 122 were 
legal-size fish. Eleven of the transitional fish 
were juveniles, that is immature females that 
have transitioned to male (primary male), and 
all were sublegal size. Age at 50% sexual tran- 
sition was not significantly different (Wald’s 
^ 2 =1.02, P=0.312, df=l) between legal- and 
sublegal-size red porgy and occurred around 
age two (legal-size fish=2.17 yr and sublegal- 
size fish=2.23 yr). All red porgy were male by 
age 10. There were not enough data to conduct 
an analysis of length at sexual transition. Sex- 
ually transitioning red porgy were between 215 
and 416 mm FL and 47% of the transitioning 
red porgy were at or over the legal minimum 
size limit. 
Scamp 
A total of 952 scamp were collected, of which 
409 were legal-size (>508 mm TL) and 543 were 
sublegal-size fish. Of these, 927 were success- 
fully aged. There was a narrow range of over- 
lapping age ranges for sublegal-size (2-8 years) 
and legal-size (3-17 years) scamp (Fig. 2C), and 
the distributions were significantly different 
(D = 0.11, P=0.006). The sublegal-size scamp 
distribution was narrow and peaked at ages 
four and five, whereas the legal size distribution 
was platykurtic (kurtosis=0.09) and left skewed. 
Mean age for sublegal-size fish was significantly 
different from mean age at legal sizes(F=485.1, 
P<0.001, df=l) and proportions of legal- and 
sublegal-size scamp within each age class were 
significantly different, except for age 6 (^ 2 =1.95, 
P=0.162, df=l). Legal-size scamp were signifi- 
cantly larger at age than sublegal-size scamp 
400 - n 
Jt> (red porgy) 
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 
C (scamp) 
Figure 2 
Age-frequency distributions for sublegal- (gray) and legal-size 
(white) fish by species: (A) Rhomboplites aurorubens (vermilion 
snapper), (B) Pagrus pagrus (red porgy), and (C) Mycteroperca 
phenax (scamp). Fish were collected by commercial fishermen off 
the coast of the southeastern United States from 2005 through 
2007. 
