Fogg et al.: Age and growth of invasive Pterois volitans in the northern Gulf of Mexico 
137 
activities, including local “culling” programs (Green et al., 
2017; Mizrahi et al., 2017), lead to more accurate forecast¬ 
ing (Johnston et al., 2017) and effective regional manage¬ 
ment. Information from regional demographic data sets, 
coupled with identification of spatial and temporal pat¬ 
terns in the harvest vulnerability of older and larger lion- 
fish, can be used to identify regions or seasons that need 
better protection or regulation (Zhou et al., 2010; Tobin 
et al., 2013). Data from this study can inform development 
of region-specific management strategies for controlling 
the invasion of lionfish in the GOM. This study provides 
the first regional estimates of life history parameters for 
red lionfish in the northern GOM, where populations of 
this invasive species appear to be not only established but 
also expanding their range (Dahl and Patterson, 2014; 
Dahl et al., 2016; Fogg et al., 2017). Life history infor¬ 
mation provided here can be incorporated into studies 
of competition between lionfish and reef fish species (see 
Rojas-Velez et al., 2019) that will enhance management 
decision-making and stock assessments. 
Acknowledgments 
We thank Coast Watch Alliance and the volunteer divers 
and fishermen for their financial and logistical support. 
We also thank the undergraduate interns sponsored by 
the Marine Education Center at the Gulf Coast Research 
Laboratory, University of Southern Mississippi, for assis¬ 
tance in processing red lionfish. Additional travel and 
research support was provided by the Gulf and Carib¬ 
bean Fisheries Institute, the Mississippi Chapter of the 
American Fisheries Society, and the Lytle Scholarship 
and Tom Mclllwain Scholarship of the University of 
Southern Mississippi. 
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