Seasonal occupancy and connectivity amongst nearshore flats and reef habitats by permit Trachinotus falcatus: considerations for fisheries management

Abstract

We used acoustic telemetry to quantify permit Trachinotus falcatus habitat use and connectivity in proximity to the Florida Keys, USA, and assessed these patterns relative to current habitat and fisheries management practices. From March 2017 to June 2018, 45 permit tagged within 16 km of the lower Florida Keys were detected at stationary acoustic receivers throughout the south Florida region, the majority of which remained within the Special Permit Zone, where more extensive fisheries harvest regulations are implemented. There was a high level of connectivity between nearshore flats (i.e., <3 m water depth) and the Florida reef tract (FRT; 15-40 m water depth), with 75% of individuals detected in both habitats. These locations probably function primarily as foraging and spawning habitats, respectively. Permit occupancy on the FRT peaked during the months of March-September, with the highest number of individuals occurring there in April and May. Specific sites on the FRT were identified as potentially important spawning locations, as they attracted a high proportion of individuals that exhibited frequent visits with high residency durations. There were also significant positive relationships between seasonal habitat-use metrics on the FRT and an empirical permit gonadosomatic index. Large aggregations of permit at spawning sites on the FRT are potentially vulnerable to the effects of fishing (including predation during catch and release) at a critical point in their life cycle. These data on permit space use and movement, coupled with knowledge of stressors on their ecology, provide insights for implementing science-based strategic management plans.

Grouper Tales: Use of Acoustic Telemetry to Evaluate Grouper Movements at Western Dry Rocks in the Florida Keys

“…; Brownscombe et al. ). Future management plans involving WDR should consider the potential of a grouper spawning aggregation site in the area, especially if there is a low density of large, sexually mature grouper in the lower Florida Keys.…”

“…The results of our study suggest that the WDR area contains important habitat for adult and subadult grouper as growth-to-maturity habitat and as a potential grouper spawning aggregation site. The WDR is already known to contain a Permit FSA and multiple snapper species' FSAs, which are recognized as essential fish habitat (NOAA 1997) and important for consideration in management plans (Lindeman et al 2000;Brownscombe et al 2020). Future management plans involving WDR should consider the potential of a grouper spawning aggregation site in the area, especially if there is a low density of large, sexually mature grouper in the lower Florida Keys.…”

“…) and is well known as an FSA site for Permit (Brownscombe et al. ). We suspect that WDR could have potential as a spawning aggregation site similar to Riley's Hump, a documented multispecies FSA utilized by both snapper and grouper species at different times of the year, which is located 70 km away from Key West in the Dry Tortugas region and has been protected as a no‐take marine reserve since 2001 (Locascio and Burton ; Sanchez et al.…”

“…The Western Dry Rocks (WDR) area located southeast of Key West, Florida, is one of the more heavily fished sections of the Florida Keys reef tract (FWC, unpublished aerial survey data; Supplementary Figure S.1 available separately online). This location was identified as a potential FSA site for multiple species of snapper (Lindeman et al 2000) and is well known as an FSA site for Permit (Brownscombe et al 2020). We suspect that WDR could have potential as a spawning aggregation site similar to Riley's Hump, a documented multispecies FSA utilized by both snapper and grouper species at different times of the year, which is located 70 km away from Key West in the Dry Tortugas region and has been protected as a no-take marine reserve since 2001 (Locascio and Burton 2015;Sanchez et al 2017;Feeley et al 2018).…”

Application of telemetry and stable isotope analyses to inform the resource ecology and management of a marine fish

“…Permit Trachinotus falcatus, a member of the Carangidae family, occupy coastal marine habitats in the western Atlantic, Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico (Adams & Cooke, 2015) and support multiple, highly valuable recreational fisheries in Florida (Fedler, 2013). In south Florida, permit occupy a variety of habitat types, foraging mostly on benthic invertebrates in shallow, nearshore flats (<5 m depth; Brownscombe, Griffin, Morley, Acosta, Hunt, Lowerre-Barbieri, Crossin, et al, 2020) and spawning in the spring and summer months in proximity to natural and/or artificial reefs .…”