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Movements and Site Fidelity of two Juvenile Fish Species Using Surf Zone Nursery Habitats Along The Southeastern North Carolina Coast

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Abstract

We examined the extent of movements of juvenile Florida pompano, Trachinotus carolinus, and gulf kingfish, Menticirrhus littoralis, along an open ocean beach. Fishes were collected by seine at three sites along Masonboro Island and Carolina Beach, NC between 7 June and 7 July 1995. All specimens 40 mm standard length (SL) were tagged with coded wire tags and released at the capture sites. Between 7 July and 9 August and on 15–16 September Masonboro Island and northern Carolina Beach were surveyed for tagged fish. A controlled tag mortality/retention study was conducted for both species. Overall, 1569 Florida pompano (40–135 mm SL) were tagged. Sixty-one (3.9%) of these were recaptured, and only eight moved away from the original tagging sites. The largest movements by two Florida pompano were 2.1 and 10.5 km. Many fish remained at their original tagging sites for 21–27 days. Of 488 gulf kingfish (36–158 mm SL) tagged, 16 (3.3%) were recaptured. Gulf kingfish also exhibited little movement away from tagging sites during the study, with individuals remaining at original tagging sites up to 21 days. Stock size estimates for Florida pompano ranged from 3354 to 4670 among the tagging sites, with densities ranging from 1.9 to 2.6 fish m−2. The remarkable site fidelity exhibited by these two species suggests that resources were not limiting or that predation pressure was not high enough to cause large scale movements during the study. This implies that local disturbances could impact behavior or survival of juvenile fishes in the surf zone.

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  1. NC Division of Coastal Management, North Carolina National Estuarine Research Reserve, 5600 Marvin Moss Lane, Wilmington, NC, 28409, U.S.A.

    Steve W. Ross & Johnny E. Lancaster

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  1. Steve W. Ross
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Ross, S.W., Lancaster, J.E. Movements and Site Fidelity of two Juvenile Fish Species Using Surf Zone Nursery Habitats Along The Southeastern North Carolina Coast. Environmental Biology of Fishes 63, 161–172 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1014287917297

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