Scup
Scup
Stenotomus chrysops
About the Species
The scup fishery in the U.S. operates from Maine to Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. Scup undergo an extensive migration between coastal waters in the summer and offshore waters (outer continental shelf) in winter. They migrate offshore and south in the fall, returning north and inshore to coastal areas and bays in spring. The scup fishery predominantly uses trawls or handlines, but other gear includes longline, rod and reel, pot, trap, gillnet, spear, and dredge. The market for scup is for human consumption. U.S. wild-caught scup is a smart seafood choice because it is sustainably managed and responsibly harvested under U.S. regulations. Implementing regulations are found at 50 CFR part 648 subpart H.
Population Level
Above target population level in the Mid-Atlantic and New England. The population level is unknown in the South Atlantic.
Fishing Status
At recommended level.
Habitat Impacts
Otter trawls can impact bottom habitat. Scup are mainly harvested over sand and mud habitats, which appear to be more resilient to the effects of trawling than more structured habitats, such as coral.
Bycatch
Regulations are in place to minimize bycatch.
Status
- According to the 2017 stock assessment for scup in the Mid-Atlantic and New England, scup are not overfished and are not subject to overfishing. The population status for scup has not been assessed in the South Atlantic region.
- With greatly improved reproduction and survival rates and low fishing rates since 1998, Mid-Atlantic spawning stock biomass (a measure of the amount of scup able to reproduce) has steadily increased since the mid-1990s, up to about 190,000 metric tons in 2012, then down slightly to 183,000 metric tons in 2014.
Protected Status
Appearance
- Scup are deep-bodied (deeper from back to belly than they are wide).
- They are dusky brown with bright silvery reflections below and spiny fins.
- Adult fins are mottled with dark brown, and young scup fins may be faintly barred.
- Scup’s front teeth are very narrow, almost conical, and they have two rows of molars in the upper jaw.
- Longspine porgy look similar to scup, but can be easily identified by the elongated spines on their backs.
Biology
- Scup grow slowly, up to about 20 inches long and 4 pounds.
- They can live a relatively long time, up to about 20 years.
- Scup are able to reproduce when they reach age 2, when they’re about 8 inches long.
- They spawn over weedy or sandy areas in southern New England from Massachusetts Bay south to the New York Bight from May through August, with peak activity in June.
- Individual scup spawn once a year.
- Most fish spawn at night, but scientists believe scup spawn in the morning.
- Females release an average of 7,000 eggs, which are fertilized externally.
- Scup are browsers – they nibble on invertebrates that live on the ocean bottom.
- They are able to grasp food with their incisors and crush hard-shelled animals with their strong molars.
- A variety of plankton-eaters—such as medusae, crustaceans, and fish—prey on scup larvae.
- A number of fish and shorebirds prey on juvenile and adult scup.
Where They Live
- Scup are found in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean, primarily between Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and Cape Hatteras, North Carolina.
Management
- NOAA Fisheries, the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, and the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission cooperatively manage the scup fishery north of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina.
- Individual states may set different regulations for the commercial scup fishery. Where state measures differ from federal regulations, federally permitted fishery participants must adhere to the more restrictive measures.
- Managed under the Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Fishery Management Plan:
- Annual commercial quota is divided into three harvest periods: Winter I (January–April), Summer (May–October), and Winter II (November–December).
- The Commission manages the summer quota with individual state quotas.
- NOAA Fisheries monitors commercial harvests and closes the federal scup fishery when the quotas are reached.
- Minimum size limits to prevent the harvest of young fish that likely haven’t yet reproduced.
- Minimum mesh size requirements for trawl nets to reduce bycatch of undersized scup.
- Scup pots and traps must have degradable hinges and escape vents to reduce bycatch and to prevent “ghost fishing” (when a lost trap continues to catch fish or lobster).
- A moratorium on entry into the fishery.
- Recreational anglers are subject to an annual harvest limit, minimum fish sizes, possession limits, and open harvest periods.
- NOAA Fisheries and the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council manage the black sea bass fishery south of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina.
- Managed under the South Atlantic Snapper Grouper Fishery Management Plan.
- A small amount of scup is harvested in the South Atlantic. Scup are managed as part of a complex with several other porgy species.
- The Snapper Grouper FMP requires fishermen to have a permit and to comply with gear restrictions. The complex is regulated through commercial and recreational annual catch limits and accountability measures to ensure overfishing does not occur.