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ICES Journal of Marine Science: Journal du Conseil Advance Access originally published online on April 26, 2008
ICES Journal of Marine Science: Journal du Conseil 2008 65(6):889-898; doi:10.1093/icesjms/fsn064
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© 2008 International Council for the Exploration of the Sea. Published by Oxford Journals. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Retrospective stock assessment of the Emperor red snapper (Lutjanus sebae) on the Seychelles Bank between 1977 and 2006

E. M. Grandcourt1, T. Hecht2, A. J. Booth2 and J. Robinson3

1 Marine Environment Research Centre, Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi, PO Box 45553, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
2 Department of Ichthyology and Fisheries Science, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa
3 Seychelles Fishing Authority, PO Box 449, Fishing Port, Victoria, Mahé, Seychelles

Correspondence to E. M. Grandcourt: tel: +971 2 6817171; fax: +971 2 6810008; e-mail: egrandcourt{at}ead.ae.

Grandcourt, E. M., Hecht, T., Booth, A. J., and Robinson, J. 2008. Retrospective stock assessment of the Emperor red snapper (Lutjanus sebae) on the Seychelles Bank between 1977 and 2006. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 65: 889–898.

The stock status of the Emperor red snapper (Lutjanus sebae) on the Seychelles Bank was determined between 1977 and 2006 using models of yield-per-recruit (YPR) and spawner-biomass-per-recruit (SBR). Demographic parameters were derived from size frequency and size-at-age data from validated annuli in sagittal otoliths. The long lifespan (tmax = 28 years), slow growth rate (k = 0.14), empirically estimated low natural mortality rate (M = 0.12), and late age at sexual maturity (tm = 9 years for males and females combined) predisposed the L. sebae resource to overfishing. Fish became vulnerable to the gear at a mean size (Lc50 = 39.8 cm LF) and age (3.1 years) before the attainment of sexual maturity at 62 cm LF. Consequently, there was a large proportion of immature fish in landings (51.2% on average) and the full growth potential for the resource might not have been realized. For most years, the fishing mortality rates and SBR approximated the limit reference point F30%. The potential for recruitment-overfishing was identified for some years (1990 and 2004), and the dramatic increase in recent yields is further evidence that management of this fishery requires urgent attention. Previous length-based assessments probably overestimated sustainable harvest rates, which should be between 6.7% and 7.2% of the SBR.

Keywords: age, Emperor red snapper, growth, mortality, per-recruit assessment, reef fisheries

Received 5 August 2007; accepted 7 March 2008; advance access publication 26 April 2008.


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