Life history of two data-poor but commercially valuable tropical reef fishes, Parupeneus barberinus and Mulloidichthys flavolineatus, from the Saipan fishery, Northern Mariana Islands
Erin M. Reed
A B D and Brett M. Taylor A B C
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A Joint Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research, University of Hawai’i, 2500 Campus Rd, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA.
B NOAA Fisheries, Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, 1845 Wasp Blvd, Honolulu, HI 96818, USA.
C Australian Institute of Marine Science, Indian Ocean Marine Research Centre, 39 Fairway, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia.
D Corresponding author. Email: erin.reed@noaa.gov
Marine and Freshwater Research - https://doi.org/10.1071/MF20049
Submitted: 15 February 2020 Accepted: 31 July 2020 Published online: 7 September 2020
Abstract
We provide a detailed characterisation of the life histories of two commercially important tropical goatfish species, Parupeneus barberinus and Mulloidichthys flavolineatus, from the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands (CNMI). Two years of continuous fishery-dependent data were used to assess age, growth, mortality and reproduction. Both species are short-lived, with a maximum age of 5 years and maturation within the first year of life. Female and male P. barberinus reach 50% maturity at 15.4- and 20.2-cm fork length (FL) respectively. The M. flavolineatus females and males reach 50% maturity at 15.8- and 16.1-cm FL. Temporal variation in the reproductive cycle of M. flavolineatus indicated that average monthly gonadosomatic index had a clear reproductive period of May–June and an anomalously high peak in November. The reproductive seasonality of P. barberinus was less clear, owing to the abnormally high proportion of inactive physiologically mature females found throughout the year in the fishery across a wide size range. Migrations of P. barberinus into and out of the main fishing area (Saipan lagoon) may explain why the fishery does not encompass the actively spawning population.
Additional keywords: fisheries, life history, Mariana Islands, Micronesia, otolith, Mullidae.
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