245
8 Fishery and Biological Implications of Fishing Spawning Aggregations…
the fi rst marine fi sh listing on a CITES (Convention on International Trade in
Endangered Species) Appendix I in 1975 (Musick et al. 2000 ) . Many of the larger
species of groupers (Serranidae) are threatened primarily because of overfi shing,
especially when focused on aggregations (Tuuli 2010 ; Sect. 8.3.1 ).
Seasonal concentrations of spawning adults can form the basis for specialised
fi sheries. For example, herring, such as the Pacifi c herring, Clupea pallesi , eggs are
Fig. 8.4 ( a , b ) Leopard grouper, Mycteroperca rosacea , spawn within aggregations from March
to June in the southern Gulf of California, Mexico (Erisman et al. 2007 ) , with peak spawning in
April–May. Commercial fi shers target aggregations using gill nets, nighttime spearfi shing and
hookah, and hook and line. Data show mean monthly commercial landings for 1999–2007 (mean
and SE) (Photo: © Octavio Aburto/iLCP)
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
a
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Landings (tons)