Fabrizio et al.: Home range and seasonal movements of Centropristis striata 
83 
intensive information, many acoustic studies of the 
home ranges of fishes have been conducted on rela- 
tively small spatial scales (hundreds of meters to a 
few kilometers) or during brief periods of time (days 
to weeks) with few fish (typically 15 or less). These 
spatial and temporal scales of study may be sufficient 
for elucidating the size of the home range of relatively 
sedentary fishes that inhabit restricted areas, such as 
coral reefs. However, recent work indicates that esti- 
mates of home range may be larger when habitat use 
of a target fish is monitored over larger spatial scales 
and over longer time periods (Farmer and Ault, 2011). 
Furthermore, because movement behaviors may vary 
among individuals, large sample sizes could improve 
our understanding of the size of the home range for a 
given species. 
Predictable seasonal aggregations of Black Sea Bass 
( Centropristis striata ) occur in nearshore areas of the 
mid-Atlantic region. Between spring and fall, popula- 
tions of this species are exploited by recreational hook- 
and-line fisheries, as well as by commercial pot fisher- 
ies (Shepherd and Terceiro, 1994). The Black Sea Bass 
is a demersal species in the family Serranidae, and in- 
dividuals are commonly found to associate with hard- 
bottom structures, such as reefs, rock outcroppings, and 
wrecks (Steimle and Zetlin, 2000; Fabrizio et al., 2013). 
Along the Atlantic coast, individual fish undertake an- 
nual migrations to the middle- and outer-continental 
shelf during winter (Musick and Mercer, 1977; Moser 
and Shepherd, 2009); in the spring, Black Sea Bass mi- 
grate inshore, often returning to areas occupied in the 
previous year (Moser and Shepherd, 2009). Timing of 
these seasonal cross-shelf migrations varies with lati- 
tude, but fish movements are believed to be in response 
to changes in water temperature at the bottom of the 
seafloor and in photoperiod (Moser and Shepherd, 2009; 
Fabrizio et ah, 2013). Black Sea Bass are protogynous 
hermaphrodites, and larger fish (>450 mm total length 
[TL] ) tend to be predominantly male (NEFSC * 2 ). During 
the spawning season, mature (dominant) males can be 
identified by a bright blue hump on the nape. However, 
external morphological differentiation among subordi- 
nate males, transitional males, and females is not pos- 
sible for this species (NEFSC 2 ). Because harvests are 
directed at larger fish (>250 mm TL), mature males 
tend to experience higher fishing-induced mortality 
rates than females and less developed males. 
Spatial regulations are not used currently to man- 
age Black Sea Bass, but a coastwide tagging study 
has indicated that exploitation rates among individual 
reefs in the mid-Atlantic region may be highly vari- 
able (NEFSC 3 ). Furthermore, because Black Sea Bass 
2 NEFSC (Northeast Fisheries Science Center). 2012. 53rd 
northeast regional stock assessment workshop (53rdSAW) 
assessment report. Northeast Fish. Sci. Cent. Ref. Doc. 12- 
05, 559 p. [Available from National Marine Fisheries Ser- 
vice, 166 Water St., Woods Hole, MA 02543-1026. 
3 NEFSC (Northeast Fisheries Science Center). 2004. 39 th 
northeast regional stock assessment workshop (39 th SAW) as- 
spawn in summer while resident at these reefs (Mu- 
sick and Mercer, 1977), the effect of localized fishing on 
the future production of this stock is unknown. Moser 
and Shepherd (2009) indicate that the individuals of 
the mid-Atlantic stock off the coast of New Jersey are 
fairly sedentary while resident in inshore waters; be- 
cause they inferred these movements from a conven- 
tional tagging study, movements that occurred between 
the time of capture and subsequent recapture could not 
be discerned. Data from conventional tagging studies 
cannot be used to resolve movements at fine temporal 
scales (e.g., hours to days), although it is known that 
many fishes display regular activity patterns that may 
change seasonally (Reebs, 2002). 
In this study, we used acoustic tagging to investi- 
gate the home range and seasonal movements of Black 
Sea Bass during their inshore residency at a temperate 
reef in the mid-Atlantic Bight. We examined the effect 
of fish size, sex, and duration of occupancy on size of 
home ranges, and we explored the effects of sex and 
time on movement and activity levels of individual fish. 
We considered a range of temporal scales, from diel to 
those occurring over several months, to describe move- 
ments of fish on the reef. 
Materials and methods 
Study site and acoustic grid 
We established a 46.1-km 2 grid that consisted of 72 
moored receivers (model VR2, Vemco, Ltd., 4 Bedford, 
Nova Scotia, Canada) at 72 acoustic stations within a 
study site about 6.5 km off the coast of New Jersey 
(Fig. 1, A and B). In April 2003, adjacent receivers were 
placed 800 m apart because a range test conducted ear- 
lier at this site indicated that the effective detection 
range of deployed receivers was about 400 m (Fabrizio 
et al., 2013). Sediments at this site ranged from fine- 
grain mud to coarse-grain material, such as sand, grav- 
el, and rocks (Lathrop et ah, 2006); rock outcrops were 
observed near the center of this site (Butman 5 ). His- 
torically, this area comprised a number of “dump sites” 
used to dispose of dredged materials from the Port of 
New York and New Jersey, as well as of construction 
material and other refuse. In 1997, the 53.8-km 2 area 
that surrounds the old dump sites was designated a 
Historic Area Remediation Site (HARS). This site is 
used by Black Sea Bass during their inshore residency 
sessment summary report. Northeast Fish. Sci. Cent. Ref. 
Doc. 04-10a, 16 p. [Available from National Marine Fisher- 
ies Service, 166 Water St., Woods Hole, MA 02543-1026.1 
4 Mention of trade names or commercial companies is for iden- 
tification purposes only and does not imply endorsement by 
the National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA. 
5 Butman, B. 2002. Mapping the seafloor of the Historic 
Area Remediation Site (HARS) offshore of New York City. 
U.S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet 001-02, 4 p. [Available at 
http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2002/fs001-02/fs001-02.pdf] 
