Size at Maturity for Yellow Tang From the Oahu, HI, Aquarium Fishery
September 06, 2021
We had a unique opportunity to sample yellow tang from the Oahu, Hawaiʻi, aquarium fishery and found results providing additional insight into the tang biology.
While prior research has examined age, growth, and reproduction of yellow tang (Zebrasoma flavescens), size at maturity was only preliminarily assessed and is a very important biological metric to fully understand yellow tang biology and population status.
We had a unique opportunity to sample from the Oahu, Hawaiʻi, aquarium fishery.
We found a smaller than expected size at maturity for females and males, with results suggesting that spawning can occur at a size that was previously considered within the juvenile size range.
These results provide additional insight into the biology of Z. flavescens, but further research is needed to determine if size at maturity varies spatially and under different levels of fishing pressure.
Schemmel, E. Size at maturity for yellow tang (Zebrasoma flavescens) from the Oahu, HI, aquarium fishery. Environ Biol Fish 104, 1139–1147 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-021-01142-3