Effects of Data Sources and Biological Criteria on Length-at-Maturity Estimates and Spawning Periodicity of the Commercially Important Hawaiian Snapper, Etelis coruscans
March 24, 2023
Exploring the use of six maturity classification criteria based on a functionally mature or physiologically mature designation characteristics of E. coruscans combined with seasonality and inclusion of additional reproductive phases.
Reproductive characteristics of a fish stock provide important tools for assessing population health. When criteria for determining maturity classifications are inconsistent, it is difficult to accurately assess change over time and space. Etelis coruscans is a commercially important eteline snapper found throughout the Indo-Pacific, but its region-specific reproductive information in the main Hawaiian Islands (MHI) is sparse.
The present study describes length-specific (fork length: FL) female reproductive characteristics of this deep water snapper in the context of a data-limited fishery. We discuss the reproductive characteristics of E. coruscans in the MHI, the use of alternative maturity classification criteria in L50 estimation, the impact on resultant parameters estimates, and the life history implications for the future fishery.
Reed EM, Brown-Peterson NJ, DeMartini EE and Andrews AH. 2023. Effects of data sources and biological criteria on length-at-maturity estimates and spawning periodicity of the commercially important Hawaiian snapper, Etelis coruscans. Front. Mar. Sci. 10:1102388. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2023.1102388.