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ICES Journal of Marine Science: Journal du Conseil Advance Access published online on September 8, 2008
ICES Journal of Marine Science: Journal du Conseil, doi:10.1093/icesjms/fsn138
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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

Growth, reproduction, and feeding of large monkfish, Lophius americanus

A. K. Johnson1, R. Anne Richards2, Daniel W. Cullen1 and Sandra J. Sutherland2

1 Department of Natural Sciences, University of Maryland Eastern Shore, Princess Anne, MD 21853, USA
2 NOAA Northeast Fisheries Science Center, Woods Hole, MA 02543, USA

Correspondence to A. K. Johnson: tel: +1 410 6518447; fax: +1 410 651 7739; e-mail: akjohnson{at}umes.edu.

Johnson, A. K., Richards, R. A., Cullen, D. W., and Sutherland, S. J. 2008. Growth, reproduction, and feeding of large monkfish, Lophius americanus. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 65.

The American monkfish, Lophius americanus, supports important commercial fisheries in the Northwest Atlantic. Although life history information is available for smaller L. americanus, the biology of large monkfish (>70 cm) is poorly understood because relatively few large fish are caught in standard resource surveys. Between 2006 and 2008, 699 L. americanus of 71–118 cm total length were collected from commercial gillnet fishers operating in the mid-Atlantic Bight (n = 689) and in the Gulf of Maine (n = 10) to investigate growth rates, reproductive biology, and feeding habits of large monkfish. All those collected were mature females ranging in age from 7 to 13 years. Growth was linear at an average annual rate of 7.6 cm. Hepatosomatic indices peaked in February and gonadosomatic indices between February and April. Postovulatory follicles and vitellogenic oocytes were observed in the same ovaries, evidence that monkfish spawn over a protracted period and possibly more than once annually. Food habits were similar to those reported for smaller benthic phase monkfish, but cannibalism was more prevalent in large fish (5.6% frequency of occurrence). Frequencies of feeding and cannibalism were greatest in females in the final stage of oocyte maturation.

Keywords: anglerfish, cannibalism, feeding, gonadosomatic indices, goosefish, growth, hepatosomatic indices, Lophius americanus, life history, monkfish, reproduction

Received 24 December 2007; accepted 6 August 2008.


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