The red snapper (Lutjanus campechanus) is an economically vital resource in the northern Gulf of America (GOA), and its management is a topic of considerable debate in the region. To better inform stock assessments and fishery management, spatiotemporal trends in the following measures for adults were examined: distribution, abundance (catch per unit of effort [CPUE]), size (fork length [FL]), age, and sex ratio. Data were drawn from a spatially comprehensive, fishery-independent bottom longline survey conducted from 2001 through 2023. Statistical models were used to evaluate changes across 2 regions (eastern and western GOA, separated at the longitude 88°W) and 4 time blocks. No significant distribution shifts within either region were found. Mean CPUE was consistently higher in the western GOA, where it increased eightfold between 2001–2004 and 2019–2023, and CPUE in the eastern GOA remained consistently low. Mean FL was higher in the west region, except during the final time block (2019–2023), when it became equivalent across both regions. The average age of fish in the west region was approximately 12 years (standard error of the mean [SE] 0.34), compared to 7 years (SE 0.36) in the east region. No sex ratio differences were observed between regions or over time. Relationships between CPUE and habitat variables (depth, temperature, and salinity) also remained consistent.
An illustrated description of the juvenile stage of the largetooth swallower (Kali macrodon) from the eastern North Atlantic Ocean is given. The characteristics on which this identification is based and the problems of identifying larvae by using DNA barcoding are discussed. The specimens are compared with the previously described juveniles of the shortnose swallower (K. indica), the curvejaw swallower (K. kerberti), Kali spp., and Gargaropteron pterodactylops, previously thought to be a synonym for K. macrodon. Gargaropteron pterodactylops apparently belongs not to K. macrodon but to the darkmouth swallower (K. parri). The main differences between the juveniles of K. macrodon and juveniles of other species in the genus are in the pigmentation patterns. We also present data supporting the use of Kali caribbaea as the senior synonym of Kali colubrina and include a phylogenetic tree of the Kali species based on cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 sequences.
