Developmental patterns within a multispecies reef fishery: Management applications for essential fish habitats and protected areas

Diverse information sets and regulatory mechanisms are necessary for the management of essential fish habitats (EFH) and protected areas involving multispecies fisheries. We therefore identified key pelagic and demersal developmental patterns among the 73 species of the snapper-grouper complex of the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council. Twenty-two potential spawning aggregation sites for eight snapper species near the Dry Tortugas and Key West were identified by commercial fishermen. Mean larval duration estimates were available for 15 species and ranged from 14 to 75 d. Larval durations for grunts, snappers, and groupers are within the residence times of some gyres. Settlement areas are depth stratified and, settlers often use shallower habitats than adults. Demersal stages of at least 50 species showed some degree of ontogenetic migration across the shelf, but most evidence suggests that strict estuary dependence is a rare lifehistory strategy among the species in the complex; facultative use of estuaries is more common. Including key nursery habitats in protected areas may not safeguard early life stages affected by coastal construction projects unless the design process is coordinated among agencies responsible for water quality and habitat protection through tools such as EFH. Sites that consistently support spawning aggregations for multiple species require management both as EFH-Habitat Areas of Particular Concern and, potentially, as no-take protected areas. The most important known snapper spawning aggregation site in the lower Florida Keys is Riley's Hump. Despite a site closure in May and June, aggregations of several other snapper species are heavily fished later in the year. A year-round closure to protect both fish stocks and remaining habitat integrity is warranted. Coastal development and fishing activities may affect multiple life stages of the same species, although these activities are often managed under different regulatory regimes. The need to unify coastal land management with fishery management was reinforced by the essential fish habitat (EFH) provisions in the reauthorization of the Magnuson-Stevens Act (NOAA, 1996). Accordingly, the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council characterized EFH for species in its jurisdiction (federal waters of North Carolina through the east coast of Florida) in a comprehensive amendment that included seven fishery management plans (SAFMC, 1998a,b). Development of regulatory initiatives for multispecies management units can be confounded by high phylogenetic and ontogenetic variability. This problem is particularly apparent in the Snapper-Grouper Fishery Management Plan, which includes 73 species. The snapper-grouper complex is the most diverse management unit under council jurisdiction, and its species use a broad array of habitats across the entire continental shelf. In addition to the EFH initiative, many researchers and managers now suggest that no-take areas, commonly called marine protected areas or reserves, may be necessary for sustainable fishery management (Plan Development Team, 1990; Allison et al., 1998; Johnson et al., 1999). The council's protected-area work has largely emphasized the snapper-grouper complex.