Thirty‐nine adult Atlantic sturgeon Acipenser oxyrinchus oxyrinchus (136–234 cm total length) were caught in gill nets fished at historical sturgeon‐fishing locations in the Combahee and Edisto rivers (South Carolina) during spring and fall 1998. All fish were tagged (with passive integrated transponders and darts), and radio and acoustic transmitters were surgically implanted in 29 fish. When possible, gonad biopsies were taken for sex and maturity‐stage determination. Locations of telemetered fish were determined several times per week from airplanes (radio) and boats (radio and acoustic). Nominal ages, based on microscopic examination of pectoral spine cross‐sections, ranged from 7 to 20 years. Of the 28 fish for which sex was definitively ascertained, 21 (aged 7–15) were male and 7 (aged 15–20) were female. All fish moved out of the rivers during the period extending from October to November. Twelve fish returned the following spring (most in March), and many took up residence at the same sites utilized the previous year. Fall and spring spawnings were documented based on histological examination of gonad biopsies and directed upriver movements of fish during both seasons. Habitats used during summer were diverse and included the lower and upper estuaries, tidal freshwater, river, and perhaps even the ocean, as some fish left the system entirely. One male was captured in two successive springs and was in spawning condition (running ripe) both years.

During 1978–1998, 80,558 black sea bass Centropristis striata were caught with blackfish and chevron traps off eastern Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina at depths ranging from 9 to 55 m. Black sea bass were found to live for at least 10 years, but most were ages 1–5. There were latitudinal differences in the size at age, significantly larger size at age occurring in the southern segment (31°20′N to 32°40′N) than in the northern segment (32°41′N to 34°00′N). Males were found in all size‐classes and age‐classes and were most frequently encountered at sizes greater than 220 mm standard length (SL) and greater than age 4 in the southern segment and at sizes greater than 240 mm SL and greater than age 5 in the northern segment. Sexual transition and maturity of females occurred at smaller sizes and younger ages in the southern segment than in the northern segment. Probit analysis indicated that between 1978–1982 and 1987–1998 the size at 50% maturity (L50) for females fell from 137 to 108 mm SL in the southern segment and from 145 to 115 mm SL in the northern segment. The L50 could not be determined for fish caught during 1983–1986 because very few immature individuals were collected. Slight increases in the mean length and catch per unit effort, as well as a decrease in fishing mortality during the 1990s, suggested that the condition of the black sea bass stock had improved, probably due to management actions.

Sand perch Diplectrum formosum were collected in the Atlantic Ocean waters off the south-eastern U.S. for life history analyses between April 2001 and July 2004 and ranged in size from 63 to 236 mm standard length (L(S)) and 0-8 years of age. Diplectrum formosum are simultaneous hermaphrodites that reach 50% sexual maturity at 12.2 months and 122.8 mm L(S) for testicular tissue and 13.6 months and 129.3 mm L(S) for ovarian tissue. The gonad contains ovarian and testicular tissue separated by a thin basement membrane, with no means of internal self-fertilization. Spawning females were found between March and January with a peak of spawning activity in May and a realized spawning periodicity of 2 days, equivalent to a maximum of 168 spawning events per year. Fish with testicular tissue in spawning condition were obtained throughout the year in every month sampled with a maximum frequency between June and September. There were also trends indicating that testicular tissue was more likely to be in spawning condition in the presence of hydrated oocytes within the accessory structure. This may indicate the use of the accessory structure as a storage site for hydrated oocytes until a mate can be located.