Jc. Potts et al., AGE AND GROWTH OF VERMILION SNAPPER FROM THE SOUTHEASTERN UNITED-STATES, Transactions of the American Fisheries Society, 127(5), 1998, pp. 787-795
A comprehensive aging study of vermilion snapper, Rhomboplites aurorub
ens, was conducted, using 1,465 otoliths collected between 1991 and 19
95 from the commercial and head-boat fisheries from North Carolina thr
ough the Florida Keys. An additional 19 otoliths came from fishery-ind
ependent samples from the South Atlantic Eight for fish smaller than 2
54 mm total length (TL), which is the legal size limit. Marginal incre
ment analysis revealed that rings on the otoliths were deposited annua
lly. This observation is further substantiated by the increasing modal
radius of each age ring corresponding to the increasing modal size of
the fish at age. Observed ages ranged from age 1 (202 mm mean TL) to
age 14 (535 mm TL). The largest fish was 600 mm TL and was estimated t
o be age 13. The weight-length relationship was described by the equat
ion: W = 9.55 X 10(-9)(L)(3.04), where W = whole weight in kilograms a
nd L = total length in millimeters. The von Bertalanffy equation was e
stimated using the inverse, weighted, backcalculated lengths at the la
st annulus. The equation was L-t = 650 (1-e(-0.144(t+0.238))), where t
is age in years.