Friess and Sedberry: Age, growth, and spawning season for Beryx decadactylus 
31 
been showing signs of overexploitation; examples in- 
clude snowy grouper (Epinephelus niveatus) (Wyanski 
et al., 2000) and blueline tilefish ( Caulolatilus microps) 
(Harris et al., 2004). Even though red bream are cur- 
rently not a target for commercial fisheries operating on 
the Charleston Bump, landings ought to be monitored 
closely, and red bream may need to be considered for 
inclusion in a fishery management plan as a stock in 
the fishery. Red bream that are caught are generally 
retained for sale, and if fishing effort increases, the 
stock could become subject to overfishing in the absence 
of management because of life history characteristics 
indicative of a highly vulnerable species. Management 
measures that would ensure the future sustainability 
of a fishery for red bream are likely similar to the ones 
that are already in place for wreckfish. They include 
individual transferrable quotas, closures of spawning 
areas, and gear restrictions. 
The above comparison of life history parameters of 
the red bream populations from the eastern and west- 
ern North Atlantic raises questions about stock struc- 
ture for this species. Red bream sampled from the U.S. 
commercial fishery were generally larger and older 
than those observed in fishery-dependent and fishery- 
independent surveys from the Azores (Isidro, 1996; 
Menezes et al., 2009). Moreover, population-level spawn- 
ing events have been documented in this study on the 
Charleston Bump, but not in the eastern North Atlantic 
(Isidro, 1996). These observed patterns could be due to 
gear selectivity and sampling bias or they could be an 
accurate reflection of geographic differences — perhaps 
even of a complex life cycle similar to that of the co-oc- 
curring wreckfish. Juvenile wreckfish are found mainly 
in the eastern North Atlantic, whereas spawning adults 
have so far been documented only on the Charleston 
Bump (Sedberry et al., 1999). Moreover, wreckfish have 
been captured off the southeastern United States with 
corroded hooks in their mouths that are of the same 
type as those used around the Azores, but not in the 
U.S. fishery. This finding indicates a trans-Atlantic 
migration of adults. In addition, population genetic 
analysis supports a panmictic population structure for 
wreckfish in the North Atlantic (Sedberry et al., 1996). 
The long pelagic juvenile stage of alfonsinos would 
allow sufficient time for long-distance dispersal, and 
some authors have suggested different juvenile and 
adult habitat for alfonsinos in the eastern North At- 
lantic (Isidro, 1996; Lehodey et ah, 1997). Isidro (1996) 
even speculated that recruitment to the Azores fishery 
may occur mainly through the drift of eggs and larvae 
from spawning areas located north or northwest of the 
Azores. Spawning aggregations in the Azores have 
since been confirmed for splendid alfonsino, but not 
for red bream (Menezes et al., 2009). The Charleston 
Bump may be an area that supplies red bream recruits 
to the Azores fishery by means of the Gulf Stream. 
Although purely speculative at this point, this hy- 
pothesis warrants further investigation. Mitochondrial 
DNA (mtDNA) studies to date have shown an absence 
of genetic structure between red bream populations 
from the Azores and the Charleston Bump (Friess and 
Sedberry, in press), but there is mtDNA evidence for 
localized genetically distinct populations within the 
eastern North Atlantic (Aboim, 2005). More exten- 
sive genetic studies that include red bream samples 
from throughout their range in the North Atlantic 
and perhaps use a different genetic marker are needed 
to examine red bream population structure in the 
North Atlantic more closely. It would be particularly 
important for fishery management and conservation 
purposes to know whether there are self-sustaining 
populations on individual seamounts and hard bottom 
habitats that serve as a source of recruits to other ar- 
eas. If there was a single red bream stock in the North 
Atlantic, it would have to be managed carefully across 
international borders. 
Acknowledgments 
We thank B. White, J. Loefer, and M. Reichert for assist- 
ing with otolith interpretation and aging. R Harris and 
A. Strand helped with data analysis. A. Williams and D. 
Wyanski assisted with the interpretation of reproductive 
stages, and A. Williams served as second reader of the 
histological sections. The members of the MARMAP 
program helped with sample collection and processing, 
and G. Menezes provided otoliths from eastern North 
Atlantic red bream. We thank S. Campana for advice 
on interpretation of otolith growth bands. We thank 
O. Hamel for providing the executable files and advice 
for running the deterministic models and J. Cope for 
advice on using IGOR+ software. We thank A. Andrews, 
who assisted with data analysis and interpretation, as 
well as K. McCarthy, and two anonymous reviewers for 
providing detailed suggestions that led to significant 
improvements at the manuscript stage. This research 
was supported with grants from the NOAA Fisher- 
ies Special Programs Office (NA03NMF4720321 and 
NA17FF2874; G. Sedberry and J. Loefer, principal inves- 
tigators). Submersible observations were supported with 
NOAA Ocean Exploration grants NA030AR-4600097 
and NA0ROAR4600055, G. Sedberry, principal inves- 
tigator. This is contribution 357 from the Grice Marine 
Laboratory. 
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