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Home > GCR > Vol. 21 > Iss. 1 (2009)

 

Alternate Title

Age Estimates of Two Large Misty Grouper, Epinephelus mystacinus (Serranidae) from Bermuda with a Comparison of the Age of Tropical Groupers in the Western Atlantic

Document Type

Short Communication

Abstract

Misty grouper are known to attain at least 54 kg and 115 cm total length (TL) (Heemstra and Randall 1993) although a maximum size of 160 cm TL is reported (Appeldoorn et al. 1987, cited in www.FishBase.com). Recently, two specimens (152 and 157 mm TL) were landed by commercial fisherman from the edge of the Bermuda platform, providing documentation of the maximum size which may be attained by this species. There are no age and growth studies on misty grouper (Heemstra and Randall 1993; www.FishBase.com). Therefore, the age data presented here, although not validated, represent the first estimates of maximum longevity and support Campana’s (2005) statement that, “methods for validating ages of deep-sea fishes are urgently required.” We compared the age estimates of our misty grouper specimens with the age of a large wreckfish (45.5 kg) taken from a similar but deeper-water habitat. In addition, we provide a comparison of the maximum ages of 9 other species of grouper in the western Atlantic.

First Page

73

Last Page

77

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