Biological Report 82(11.96)April 1989

REFERENCE COPYRECELIVE- JUL 0 5Do Not Remove from the Library

I. 5. F"9-.1 WAIdAifc Service

National Wetlands Research Center TR EL-82-4

700 Cajun Dome BoulevardLofayette, Louisiana 70506

I

Species Profiles: Life Histories andEnvironmental Requirements of Coastal Fishesand Invertebrates (South Atlantic)

BLUEFISH

Fish and Wildlife ServiceU.S. Department of the Interior

Coastal Ecology GroupWaterways Experiment StationU.S. Army Corps of Engineers

CAAL

Biological Report 82(11.96)TR EL-82-4April 1989

Species. Profiles: Life Histories and Environmental Requirements ofCoastal Fishes and.Invertebrates (South Atlantic)

BLUEFISH

by

J. Douglas Oliver,Michael J. Van Den Avyle, and Earl L. Bozeman, Jr.

Georgia Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research UnitSchool of Forest Resources

University of GeorgiaAthens, GA 30602

Project OfficerDavid Moran

U.S. Fish and Wildlife ServiceNational Wetlands Research Center

1010 Gause BoulevardSlidell, LA 70458

Performed forCoastal Ecology Group

U.S. Army Corps of EngineersWaterways Experiment Station

Vicksburg, MS 39180

and

U.S. Department of the InteriorFish and Wildlife ServiceResearch and Development

National Wetlands Research CenterWashington, DC 20240

This series should be referenced as follows:

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 1983-19 . Species profiles: life historiesand environmental requirements of coastal fishes and invertebrates. U.S.Fish Wildl. Serv. Biol. Rep. 82(11).. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers TR EL-82-4.

This profile should be cited as follows:

Oliver, J.D., M.J. Van Den Avyle, and E.L. Bozeman, Jr. 1989. Species profiles:life histories and environmental requirements of coastal fishes andinvertebrates (South Atlantic)--bluefish. U.S. Fish Wildl. Serv. Biol. Rep.82(11.96). U.S. Army Corps of Engineers TR EL-82-4. 13 pp.

PREFACE

This species profile is one of a series on coastal aquatic organisms,principally fish, of sport, commercial, or ecological importance. The profilesare designed to provide coastal managers, engineers, and biologists with a briefcomprehensive sketch of the biological characteristics and environmentalrequirements of the species and to describe how populations of the species may beexpected to react to environmental changes caused by coastal development. Eachprofile has sections on taxonomy, life history, ecological role, environmentalrequirements, and economic importance, if applicable. A three-ring binder isused for this series so that new profiles can be added as they are prepared.This project is jointly planned and financed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineersand the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Suggestions or questions regarding this report should be directed to one ofthe following addresses.

Information Transfer SpecialistNational Wetlands Research CenterU.S. Fish and Wildlife ServiceNASA-Slidell Computer Complex1010 Gause BoulevardSlidell, LA 70458

or

U.S. Army Engineer Waterways Experiment StationAttention: WESER-CPost Office Box 631Vicksburg, MS 39180

iii

CONVERSION TABLE

Mul ti ply

millimeters (mm)centimeters (cm)meters (m)meters Wm)kilometers (km)kilometers (km)

square meters (m2 )square kilometers (kM2 )hectares (ha)

liters (I)cubic meters (m 3 )cubic meters (m3 )

milligrams (mg)grams (g)kilograms (kg)metric tons (t)metric tons (t)

kilocalories .(kcal)Celsius degrees ('C)

inchesinchesfeet (ft)fathomsstatute miles (mi)nautical miles (nmi)

square feet (ft 2 )square miles (mi2 )acres

gallons (gal)cubic feet (ft 3 )acre-feet

Metric to U.S. Customary

BY0.039370.3937

3.2810.54680.62140.5396

10.760.38612.471

0.264235.310.0008110

0.000035270.03527

2.2052205.0

1.102

3.968

1.8(OC) + 32

U.S. Customary to Metric

25.402.540.30481.8291.6091.852

To Obtain

inchesinchesfeetfathomsstatute milesnautical miles

square feetsquare milesacres

gallonscubic feetacre-feet

ouncesouncespoundspoundsshort tons

British thermal unitsFahrenheit degrees

millimeterscentimetersmetersmeterskilometerskilometers

0.09292.5900.4047

3.7850.02831

1233.0

28350.028.35

0.45360.000450.9072

0.25200.5556 (OF - 32)

ounces (oz)ounces (oz)pounds (lb)pounds (lb)short tons (ton)

British thermal units (Btu)Fahrenheit degrees (OF)

square meterssquare kilometershectares

literscubic meterscubic meters

milligramsgramskilogramsmetric tonsmetric tons

kilocaloriesCelsius degrees

iv

CONTENTS

Page

PREFACE...... ........................................................ iiiCONVERSION TABLE ....................................................... ivACKNOWLEDGMENTS ............................................................ vi

NOMENCLATURE/TAXONOMY/RANGE ................................................. IMORPHOLOGY AND IDENTIFICATION AIDS ......................................... 1REASON FOR INCLUSION IN SERIES ........... ................................. 3LIFE HISTORY ... ........................................................ 3

Migration of Adults and Spawning ......................................... 3Eggs and Larvae .......................................................... 6Juveniles and Adults ..................................................... 6

GROWTH CHARACTERISTICS ..................................................... 7THE FISHERY ................................................................ 8ECOLOGICAL ROLE ............................................................ 9ENVIRONMENTAL REQUIREMENTS ................................................. 9

Temperature and Salinity ................................................. 9Dissolved Oxygen ........................................................ 10Depth ....................... • .................... 10Water Movement and Turbidity ......................... .................... 10

LITERATURE CITED ........................................................... 11

V

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We thank Stuart Wilk, U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service, Sandy HookLaboratory, Sandy Hook, New Jersey, and L. E. Barger, U.S. National MarineFisheries Service, Panama City, Florida,for reviewing this manuscript.

vi

Figure 1. Bluefish.

BLUEFISH

NOMENCLATURE/TAXONOMY/RANGE

Scientific name .... Pomatomus saltatrix(Linnaeus)

Preferred common name ......... Bluefish(Figure 1)

Other common names ............... Blue,snapper, horse mackerel, Hatterasblue, tailor

Class .................... OsteichthyesOrder ...................... PerciformesFamily ..................... Pomatomidae

(P. saltatrix is the only species.)

Geographic range: The bluefish occursin most temperate coastal regions ofall oceans except the north and cen-tral Pacific Ocean (Briggs 1960;Wilk 1977). It is abundant in estu-arine and continental shelf watersof the east coast of North Americafrom Nova Scotia southward to Flori-da and occurs in the Gulf. of Mexico

westward to Texas (Dahlberg 1975).In the South Atlantic Region (CapeHatteras, North Carolina, southwardto Cape Canaveral, Florida), blue-fish are most abundant along thecoasts of North Carolina and Flori-da (Figure 2).

MORPHOLOGY AND IDENTIFICATION AIDS

The first dorsal fin has 8-9spines; the second dorsal fin has24-25 rays; and the, anal fin has 2-3spines and 26 rays. The number oflateral line scales is usually 95.Adults are bluish or greenish aboveand silvery below and have a blackishspot at the base of the pectoral fins(Jordan and Evermann 1896). The largelower jaw projects beyond the upperjaw (Dahlberg 1975). The head isproportionally larger in advanced

1

NORTH CAROLINA

-- t'%'

N

SOUTH CAROLINA

LESTON

,SAVANNAHATLANTIC OCEAN

Coastal distribution

- Major abundance40

jMILES

0 so 100

0 SO 100

KILOMETERS

Figure 2. Distribution of thecenters of abundance are along

bluefish in the South Atlantic Region. MajorNorth Carolina and Florida.

2

juveniles than in adults (Lippson andMoran 1974). Larvae and juvenileswere described by Deuel et al. (1966)and Norcross et al. (1974).

Two stocks of bluefish have beenidentified along the Atlantic coast.One stock spawns during late summer incontinental shelf waters in the MiddleAtlantic Region (Cape Cod,Massachusetts, to Cape Hatteras), andthe other spawns during spring at themargin of the Gulf Stream in the SouthAtlantic Region between Cape Hatterasand northern Florida (Lassiter 1962;Kendall and Walford 1979). The twostocks are distinguishable throughmultivariate analysis of differencesin body proportions (morphometrics) aswell as growth patterns on the scalesof selected year classes. Comparedwith summer-spawned yearlings of theMiddle Atlantic Region, spring-spawnedyearlings of the South Atlantic have arelatively larger head and pectoralfin, larger eye in proportion to thehead, longer maxillary bone, andshorter dorsal, anal, and ventral fins(Wilk 1977).

REASON FOR INCLUSION IN SERIES

The bluefish is an importantrecreational and commercial fish alongthe Atlantic seaboard; therecreational fishery predominates inthe South Atlantic Region (Anderson1978). In the charter boat fisheryfrom Cape Hatteras to South Carolina,the catch of bluefish is exceeded onlyby that of king mackerel,Scomberomorus cavalla (Manooch et al.1981). Recreational bluefish harvestfor 1983 in the South Atlantic Regionwas about 10 million fish--or about23% of the total east coastrecreational catch of bluefish (NMFS1985). Due to their abundance andhigh trophic level, bluefish play amajor ecological role in estuarine andcontinental shelf waters and aredependent on these habitats forspawning and nursery areas. No other

Atlantic coast species isthroughout such a widevariety of habitats (Wilk

as abundantrange and

1980).

LIFE HISTORY

Miqration of Adults and Spawning

The bluefish is a migratorypelagic species that generally travelsnorthward in spring and summer andsouthward in fall and winter along theAtlantic seaboard. Concentrations ofbluefish are greatest from northernNorth Carolina to Cape Cod in summerand along the Florida coast in winter(Mid-Atlantic Fishery ManagementCouncil 1982). Bluefish in the Gulfof Mexico apparently remain separatefrom those along the Atlantic coast(Lyman 1974; Barger et al. 1978). Thepresent discussion is limited to thetwo stocks of bluefish that occuralong the Atlantic coast.

In the South Atlantic Region,spawning occurs primarily duringspring in waters just shoreward of theGulf Stream, from southern North Caro-lina to Florida (Figures 3a, 4a).Ripening bluefish arrive along thecoast of the Carolinas in mid-spring.Males with free-flowing milt are morecommonly found in coastal areas thanare ripe females because the femalesmove offshore before their final stageof ripening (Deuel et al. 1966).There is evidence of relatively minorfall and winter spawning just south ofCape Hatteras (Kendall and Walf'ord1979).

In the Middle Atlantic Region,spawning occurs in summer (May - Sep-tenmber) in waters over the continen-tal shelf (Figures 3b, 4b; Lippsonand lkran 1974; Kendall and Walford1979; Smith et al. 1979). Norcrosset al. (1974) found that bluefishnorth of Cape Hatteras spawned mainlyover the outer half of the continen-tal shelf; 80% of the eggs they col-lected were taken more than 55 km

3

a. Spring-spawning b. Summer-apawning

4Wj a spawning ama

4pm ý 1-2 months, summer

4- 5-6 months, fall

4*...... 12-13 months, spring

Figure 3. Migration routes of bluefish from

sawning ae

-24 months, fall

.e...... 9-11 months, spring

hatching until I year old.

4

a. Spring-apawning b. Summer-spawning

apawning area

-.. 1+ years, fall

4---- - 2 years, spring

*e• e•e - 2years, fall

spawning area

1+ years, fall

4- ---- --- -> 2 years, springand summer

40** ** _ 2 years, Nill

Figure 4. Migration routes of bluefish over 1 year old.

5

from shore. The depth at whichspawning occurs is not known.

In the Middle Atlantic Region,significant nunmers of summer-spawningadult bluefish that have apparentlycompleted spawning move inshore intobays and inlets of Long Island Soundand the New Jersey coast during Julyand August (Figure 4b; Lund andMaltezos 1970). In the South AtlanticRegion, younger, bluefish (aged < 2years for spring spawners and agedbetween 1 and 2 years for summerspawners) inhabit nearshore areasduring their southerly migration infall and winter (Figures 3a, 4a, 4b;Wilk 1977).

Eggs and Larvae

Female bluefish weighing 1.9-2.7kg contained 600,000-1,400,000 eggs(Lassiter 1962). Fertilized eggs arespherical, 0.9-1.2 mm in diameter, andhave an oil globule of 0.22-0.30 mm.In laboratory studies, eggs hatchedafter 46-48 h at 20 °C, and newlyhatched larvae were 2.0-2.2 mm totallength (TL) (Deuel et al. 1966).Kendall and Walford (1979) collectedlarvae as small as 3 mm standardlength (SL) in outer continental shelfwaters of the South Atlantic Region.Detailed descriptions of embryonic andearly larval stages of bluefish werepublished by Deuel et al. (1966);Norcross et al. (1974). describeddevelopment from the stage immediatelyafter yolk sac absorption to the earlyjuvenile stage at 17 mm SL.

During spring, concentrations oflarvae in the South Atlantic Regionwere greatest off the New River, NorthCarolina, and Charleston, SouthCarolina, near the outer edge of thecontinental shelf (Kendall and Walford1979). These larvae apparently arecarried northward past Cape Hatterasby the Gulf Stream in April and May(Figure 3) and are dispersed over thecontinental slope of the MiddleAtlantic Region (Kendall and Walford

1979; Smith 1980; Powles 1981).Collins and Stender (1987), however,presented evidence for southward andseaward migration of bluefish larvaethat came from spring spawning in theSouth Atlantic Bight. Larvae from theminor fall and winter spawning insouthern waters may find their wayinshore south of Cape Hatteras, asindicated by the presence of a fewjuveniles there during winter (Kendall.and Walford 1979; Powles 1981).

Morse et al. (1987) found a highabundance of larvae in summer on thecontinental shelf of the MiddleAtlantic Region. Larvae spawned inthe Middle Atlantic Region remainoffshore until late summer and thenapparently move southward in fall.Their distribution in winter isunknown (Kendall and Walford 1979).

Larval development takes placein outer continental shelf waters,primarily within 6 m of the surface,at temperatures of 18-26 °C andsalinities of 30-32 ppt (Kendall andWalford 1979). Larvae undergo dielvertical migrations, concentrating atdepths near 4 m during midday and atthe surface at night (Kendall andNaplin 1981).

Juveniles and Adults

Bluefish of 13-17 mm SL have fullfin ray counts and most of the othercharacteristics of adults (Lippson andMoran 1974; Norcross et al. 1974).Juveniles from the spring spawn in theSouth Atlantic Region occur in outercontinental shelf waters of the MiddleAtlantic Region from April throughJune (Kendall and Walford 1979). Asinshore waters warm, they moveshoreward across the continental shelfinto estuaries between Cape May, NewJersey, and Long Island, New York,where they reach fork lengths (FL) of180-200 mm by fall (Wilk 1977; Figure3). Nyman and Conover (1987) suggestthat most young-of-the-year bluefishin New York waters come from thespring spawning area. Juveniles from

6

the summer spawn i n the MiddleAtlantic Region probably remain atsea, migrate south of Cape Hatterasin early fall, and spend the winteroffshore, 'appearing in the sounds ofNorth Carolina during the followingspring (Kendall and Walford 1979).

Bluefish typically reach sexualmaturity by age III at about 450 mm FL(Wilk 1977). Adults move in schoolsof similar-sized individuals; theseschools remain loosely associated toform large aggregations that sometimesextend over many square kilometersalong, the coastline. Movementpatterns are determined by severalenvironmental factors, among whichtemperature and photoperiod areprobably the most important (Olla andStudholme 1971).

In fall and winter, most adultbluefish from both Atlantic Coaststocks migrate southward. andoverwinter along the east coast ofFlorida. Tagging studies haveindicated that the southward migrationin fall is closer to shore than thesubsequent northerly migration inspring. (Wilk 1977). Some adultsoverwinter between Cape Hatteras andCape Lookout, North Carolina, where*large fish (4-9 kg) have been taken intrawls and gill nets from Decemberthrough March (J. L. Ross, NorthCarolina Division of Marine Fisheries,Morehead City; pers. comm.).

GROWTH CHARACTERISTICS

Growth rate of larva-l bluefish isinitially very rapid but decreasesafter about 3 days. Deuel et al.(1966), who determined growth ratesfor Long Island bluefish larvae fromeggs that were fertilized, and hatchedin a laboratory, reported averagetotal lengths of 2.1 mm at hatching,2.8 mm on day 1, 3.0 mm on day 2, 3.2mm on day 3, and 3.3 mm on day 4.Growth rates for laboratory rearedfish, however, may not be repre-sentative of growth at sea.

No data on growth of juvenilebluefish have been published,but some information is available onjuvenile sizes at different times ofthe year from collections taken in theMiddle and South Atlantic Regions.Spring-spawned fish collected inMiddle Atlantic Region estuaries were25-35 mm FL during summer and grew toabout 200 mm FL by fall. Summer-spawned fish were about 230 mm FL whencollected in North Carolina waters thefollowing spring and about 290 mm FLin fall (Wilk.1977). Male and femalebluefish grow at about the same rate(Hamer 1959; Richards 1976). VonBertalanffy growth equations havebeen developed for bluefish collectedfrom North Carolina (Lassiter 1962)and from South Carolina to southernFlorida (Barger, unpublished MS ), butdifferences in aging techniques andstocks sampled make comparisonsdifficult. Wilk (1977) published themost comprehensive summary of age andgrowth of bluefish along the Atlanticseaboard (Table 1).

Length-weight relationships forNorth Carolina bluefish are similar tothose for bluefish collected fromSouth Carolina to southern Florida.Equations useful for predicting weight(W, in grams) from fork length (mm)are

W = (2.45 x 10- 5 )FL 2 .9 0 3

for fish collected off North Carolina

(Lassiter 1962) and

W = (1.49 x 10- 5 )FL2 . 9 8 5

for fish collected in South Carolina,Georgia, and Florida (Barger,unpublished MS ). Wilk et al. (1978)reported the predictive equation forbluefish collected in the New YorkBight as

W = (1.12 x 10 -5)FL3"036

7

Table 1. Average size of bluefish ofdifferent ages collected from RhodeIsland to Florida, 1963-68 (Wilk1977). Averages were based on about25,000 determinations of age (usingscales) and 7,500 measurements ofweight.

Age Fork length Weight(cm) (kg)

1 21 0.1II 35 0.6

III 46 1.3IV 55 2.2V 62 3.2

VI 66 4.2VII 72 5.0

VIII 76 5.8IX 78 6.3X 80 6.8

XI 82 7.3XlI 83 7.6

XIII 85 8.0XIV 86 8.4

THE FISHERY

The recreational catch of blue-fish in the South Atlantic Regiongenerally exceeds the commercialcatch. In 1983, anglers caught about10 million bluefish, of which 8.2million were from North Carolina, 1.4million were from Florida, 0.2 millionwere from South Carolina, and 0.2million were from Georgia (NMFS 1985).The 1979 commercial harvest in theSouth Atlantic Region was less than 5million lb. The dependence of adultbluefish on nearshore habitats isreflected by the areas from which mostof the recreational catch was taken;60% of the harvest came from areaswithin 5 km of the shore. Catchesfrom private or charter boatsaccounted for about 69% of the totalbluefish catch, and catches from shoreaccounted for about 31% (NMFS 1985).

Commercial landings of bluefishincreased considerably in the late1970's and early 1980's, primarily due*to increased catches in North Carolina(Table 2). During the early 1970's,long-haul seine fishermen in PamlicoSound and the Outer Banks landed mostof the North Carolina catch, butprices were less than $0.10 per lb.Most of the increase in harvest hascome from offshore gillnet catches

landings and values, 1976-81 (Mid-AtlanticTable 2. Reported commercial bluefishFishery Management Council 1982).

Commercial landings (thousands of lb)

North South Florida ValueYear Carolina Carolina Georgia (E. coast) Total (per lb)

1976 1,356 1 <1 1,380 2,737 0.101977 2,331 10 1 1,500 3,842 0.091978 1,948 10 <1 1,230 3,188 0.131979 3,407 13 <1 1,348 4,768 0.191980 5,444 4 <1 1,762 7,210 0.141981 6,610 3 1 2,016 8,626 0.19

8

(J. L. Ross, North Carolina Divisionof Marine Fisheries, Morehead City;pers. comm.) and from the wintertrawl fishery, which exploits avariety of pelagic species (Street1983). The bulk of the commercialbluefish harvest is composed of ageI-IV fish (Wilk 1977), but many ageV-VII fish are taken commerciallyfrom Chesapeake Bay southward to CapeLookout, North Carolina (J. L. Ross,North Carolina Division of MarineFisheries, Morehead City; pers.comm.). Data on bluefish abundance,mortality rates, recruitment, andother stock characteristics thatwould be helpful in making managementdecisions are not available (Wilk1977).

ECOLOGICAL ROLE

The feeding ecology of larvaland postlarval bluefish is not. wellknown. The only published account(Kendall and Naplin 1981) indicatedthat larval bluefish ate mostlycopepods, but also fed on cladoceransand invertebrate eggs. Lassiter(1962) reported that the diet ofjuvenile bluefish from North Carolinaconsisted of 18% invertebrates(shrimp, Penaeus spp., and squid,Loligo spp.T and 82% vertebrates(predominantly pinfish, La odonrhomboides, and silversides, Menidiaspp.).

Adult bluefish are visualfeeders and are most active duringdaylight (Olla et al. 1970; Olla andStudholme 1971, 1978). They are pre-dominantly piscivorous; invertebratesplay a progressively smaller role inthe diet as age of the fish increases(Lassiter 1962; Naughton and Saloman1984). Important prey in North Caro-lina included other bluefish; butter-fish, Peprilus triacanthus; harvest-fish, P. alepidotus; anchovies,Anchoa spp.; seatrout, Cynoscionspp.; spot, Leiostomus xanthurus; and,

Atlantic menhaden, Brevoortia tyrannus(Lassiter 1962). Naughton and Saloman(1984) described the food habits of283 bluefish collected along North andSouth Carolina in 1977-1981; a prefer-ence for schooling coastal fishspecies was evident--the most commonprey included Sciaenidae, Clupeidae,Mugilidae, and Engraulidae. A listof the known food of bluefish collec-ted along the entire Atlantic coastcontained 16 invertebrate and 67vertebrate species (Wilk 1977).

Only large predators, such assharks (particularly mako sharks,Isurus spp.), tunas, swordfish(Xphas gladius), and wahoo(Acanthocybium -- solanderi) prey onadult bluefisP. Possible competitorsare spanish mackerel, -Scomberomorusmaculatus; king mackerel, S. cavalla;striped bass, Morone saxatilis; largeweakfish, Cynoscion ri j;FAtlanticbonito, Sarda sarda; and little tunny,Euthynnus a-letteratus (C.S. Manooch,National Marine Fisheries Service,Southeast Fisheries Center, Beaufort,North Carolina; pers. comm.).

ENVIRONMENTAL REQUIREMENTS

Temperature and Salinity

Newly spawned bluefish larvaehave been found in the South AtlanticRegion just shoreward of the GulfStream at temperatures of 20-26 °C andsalinities of 35-38 ppt (Kendall andWalford 1979; Powles 1981). Spawningin the Middle Atlantic Region occursat slightly lower temperatures of17-24 °C and salinities of 30-32 ppt(Norcross et al. 1974; Kendall andWalford 1979; Smith 1980). Bluefishup to about 250 mm TL require temper-atures higher than 10 'C for survival(Lund and Maltezos 1970), but adultsmay be able to survive brief exposuresto temperatures as low as 7.5 °C (Wilk1977). Adults held in a laboratorywere able to survive temperatures ashigh as 30.4 °C (Olla and Studholme1971). In northeast and east central

9

Florida, adults occur in nearshoreareas where temperatures exceed 27 'Cfor prolonged periods (Padgett 1970).

Dissolved Oxygen

Data describing effects of dis-solved oxygen concentration on blue-fish are not available. However, twosituations where. bluefish avoidedareas of low dissolved oxygen havebeen reported. One report comes fromobservations of small bluefish preyingon spawning Atlantic silversides,Menidia menidia (Middaugh et al.1981). Dissolved oxygen concentrationwas lowest (less than 1 mg/l) in thearea of most intense spawning;bluefish penetrated no further thanthe 4 mg/l isopleth. In another case,adult bluefish were absent from areasof the New York Bight having depresseddissolved oxygen during summer, butspecific oxygen levels avoided werenot determined (Azarovitz et al.1979).

Depth

Bluefish are seldom found.beyondthe continental shelf, but juvenilesand adults occupy nearshore habitatsas shallow as 0.15 m (De Sylva 1976).

A bluefish can secrete gas into itsswim bladder at the fastest rate knownfor any fish; consequently it canrapidly change depths over a largerange (Bentley and Wiley 1982).

Water Movement and Turbidity

Adult bluefish forced to swimagainst water currents in a laboratorysystem maintained speeds of 4.0 to 4.6body lengths per second for at least30 min. At intermediate and highswimming velocities, bluefish canshift to ram gill ventilation,transferring the workload of venti-lation from the branchial to theswimming musculature. This transferresults in significant metabolicsavings during rapid swimming(Freadman 1979). Bluefish are power-ful swimmers and can swim inturbulent waters. Ogilvy and Dubois(1981) determined that turbulenceintroduced into a swimming chamber didnot reduce the fish's maximum swimmingspeed.

Turbidity may affect bluefishfeeding. Adult bluefish- are visualfeeders (Olla et al. 1970), andanglers are usually more successfulwhen water is relatively clear thanwhen it is turbid (Padgett 1970).

10

LITERATURE CITED

Anderson, R.D. 1978.spawning of bluefish.24:335-339.

Feeding andSea Front.

Azarovitz, T.R., C.J. Byrne, M.J.Silverman, B.L. Freeman, W.G. Smith,S.C. Turner, B.A. Halgren, and P.J.Festa. 1979. Effects on finfishand lobster. Pages 295-314 in R.L.Swanson and C.J. Sinderman-, eds.Oxygen depletion and associatedbenthic mortalities in New YorkBight, 1976. NOAA Prof. Pap. No.11. 345 pp.

Barger, L.E. Age and growth ofbluefish. Pomatomus saltatrix(Linneaus), from the northeasternGulf of Mexico and the southeasterncoast of the United States. U.S.National Marine Fisheries Service.Panama City, FL. Unpubli shedmanuscript.

Barger, L.E., L.A. Collins, and J.H.Finucane. 1978. First record ofbluefish larvae, Pomatomussaltatrix, in the Gulf ofMe-xico.Northeast Gulf Sci. 2:145-148.

Bentley, T.B., and M.L. Wiley. 1982.Intra- and inter-specific variationin buoyancy of some estuarinefishes. Env. Biol. Fishes 7:77-81.

Briggs, J.C. 1960. Fishes of world-wide (circumtropical) distribution.Copeia 1960:171-180.

Collins, M.R., and B.W. Stender.1987. Larval king mackerel(Sconteromorus caval I a), Spanishmackerel (S. maculatus), and

bluefish (Pomatomus saltatrix) offthe southeast coast of the UnitedStates, 1973-1980. Bull. Mar. Sci.41:822-823.

Dahlberg, M.D. 1975. Guide tocoastal fishes of Georgia and nearbyStates. University of GeorgiaPress, Athens. 187 pp.

De Sylva, D.P. 1976. Attacks bybluefish (Pomatomus saltatrix) onhumans in South Florida. Copeia1976:196-198.

Deuel, D.G., J.R. Clark, and A.J.Mansueti. 1966. Description ofembryonic and early larval stages ofbluefish, Pomatomus saltatrix.Trans. Am. FishF.S7c. 95:2T72=.

Freadman, M.A. 1979. Swimmingenergetics of striped bass (Moronesaxatilis) and bluefish (Pomatomussaltatrix): Gill ventilation andswimmingmetabolism. J. Exp. Biol.83:217-230.

Hamer, P.E. 1959. Age and growthstudies of the bluefish (Pomatomussaltatrix Linnaeus) of the New YorkBight. M.S. Thesis. RutgersUniversity, New Brunswick, N.J.

Jordan, D.S., and B.W. Evermann.1896. The fishes of North andMiddle America. Bull. U.S. Natl.Mus. No. 47. 4 parts. 3,313 pp.

Kendall, A.W., Jr., and L.A. Walford.1979. Sources and distribution ofbluefish, Pomatomus saltatrix,

11

larvae and juveniles off the eastcoast of the United States. U. S.Natl. Mar. Fish. Serv. Fish. Bull.77:213-227.

Kendall, A.W., Jr., and N.A. Naplin.1981. Diel-depth distribution ofsummer ichthyoplankton in the MiddleAtlantic Bight. U. S. Natl. Mar.Fish. Serv. Fish. Bull. 79:705-726.

Lassiter, R.R. 1962. Life historyaspects of the bluefish, Pomatomussaltatrix (Linnaeus), from ThFe coastof North Carolina. M.S. Thesis.North Carolina) State College,Raleigh. 103 pp.

Lippson, A.J., and R.L. Moran. 1974.Manual of identification of earlydevelopmental stages of fishes ofthe Potomac River Estuary. PowerPlant Siting Program, Maryland Dept.Nat. Resour., PPSP-MP-13. 282 pp.

Lund, W.A., Jr., and G.C. Maltezos.1970. Movements and migrations ofthe bluefish, Pomatomus saltatrix,tagged in waters of New York andsouthern New England. Trans. Am.Fish. Soc. 99:719-725.

Lyman, H. 1974. Successful bluefish-ing. International Marine Publ.Co., Camden, Me. 112 pp.

Manooch, C.S., III, L.E. Abbas, andJ.L. Ross. 1981. A biological andeconomic analysis of the NorthCarolina charter boat fishery. Mar.Fish. Rev. 43(8):1-11.

Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Coun-cil.. 1982. Bluefish fishery man-agement plan. Mid-Atlantic FisheryManagement Council, Dover, Del. 63pp.

Middaugh, D.P., G.I. Scott, and J.M.Dean. 1981. Reproductive behaviorof the Atlantic silverside, Menidiamenidia (Pisces, Atherinidae). Env.Biol. Fishes 6:269-276.

Morse, W.W., M.P. Fahay, and W.G.Smith. 1987. MARMAP surveys of theContinental Shelf from CapeHatteras, North Carolina, to CapeSable, Nova Scotia (1977-1984).Atlas No. 2. Annual distributionpatterns of fish larvae. NOAA Tech.Memo. NMFS-F/NEC-47.

Naughton, S.P., *and C.H. Saloman.1984. Food of bluefish (Pomatomussaltatrix) from the U.S. SouthAtlantic and Gulf of Mexico. NOAATech. Memo. NMFS-SEFC-150. 37 pp.

NMFS (National Marine Fisheries Serv-ice, U.S. Department of Commerce).1985. Marine recreational fisherystatistics survey, Atlantic and GulfCoasts, 1983-1984. U.S. Natl. Mar.Fish. Serv. Curr. Fish. Stat. No.8326. 222 pp.

Norcross, J.J., S.L. Richardson, W.H.Massman, and E.B. Joseph. 1974.Development of young bluefish(Pomatomus saltatrix) and distribu-tion of eggs and young in Virginiancoastal waters. Trans. Am. Fish.Soc. 103:477-497.

Nyman, R.M., and D.O. Conover. 1987.The relation between spawning seasonand the recruitment of young-of-the-year bluefish, Pomatomussaltatrix, to New York. U.S. Natl.Mar. Fish. Serv. Fish. Bull. 86:237-250.

Ogilvy, C.S., and A.B. Dubois. 1981.The hydrodynamic drag of swimmingbluefish (Pomatomus saltatrix) indifferent intensities of turbulence:variation with changes of buoyancy.J. Exp. Biol. 92:67-85.

Olla, B.L., H.M. Katz, and A.L.Studholme. 1970. Prey capture andfeeding motivation in the bluefish,Pomatomus saltatrix. Copeia 1970:

Olla, B.L., and A.L. Studholme. 1971.The effect of temperature on theactivity of bluefish, Pomatomus

12

saltatrix L. Biol. Bull. (WoodsHole) 141:337-349.

Olla, B.L., and A.L. Studholme. 1978.Comparative aspects of the activityrhythms of tautog, Tautoga onitis,bluefish, Pomatomus saltatrix, andAtlantic mackerel, Scomber scombrus,as related to their life habits.Pages 131-151 in J.E. Thorpe, ed.Rhythmic actTvity of fishes.Academic Press, New York. 312 pp.

Padgett, H.R. 1970. Notes on Floridabluefish. Underwater Nat. 6(4):40-41.

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Smith,youngtions

Street,1982Coast

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studies offish popula-12(4):9-16.

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13

50272-101REPORT DOCUMENTATION 1. REPORT NO. 2. 3- Recient's Accession No.

PAGE Biological Report 82(11.96)*4. Trtle end Subtitle . S. & Report oate

Species Profiles: Life Histories and Environmental Requirements of April 1989Coastal Fishes and Invertebrates (South Atlantic)--Bluefish 6.

7.Autho,() J. Douglas Oliver, Michael J. Van Den Avyle and Earl L. 6. Performing Organization Rapt. No.

Bozeman, Jr.9. Performing Organization Neme and Address 10. Proiact/Task/Work Unit No.

Georgia Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research UnitSchool of Forest Resources 11. COMtC) or Grant(G) No.

University of Georgia (C)Athens, GA 30602

12. Sponsoring Organizatlion Name end Address (G)

U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 1,. TypeOf Report &Perodcovered

Fish and Wildlife Service Waterways Experiment StationNational Wetlands Research Center P.O. Box 631

Washington, DC .20240 Vicksburg, MS 39180 14.

IS. Supplementary Notes

*U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Report No. TR EL-82-4

16. Abstract (Umit: 200 words)

Species profiles are literature summaries of the life history, distribution, and-environ-mental requirements of coastal fishes and invertebrates. Profiles are prepared to assistwith environmental impact assessment. The-bluefish (Pomatomus saltatrix) is a valuablerecreational and commercial fish on the Atlantic coast.. In theSouthA-tlantic Region therecreational catch exceeds the commercial catch. The bluefish is a migratory pelagic fishthat generally travels northward in spring and summer and southward in fall and winteralong the Atlantic seaboara.In the South Atlantic Region, spawning occurs primarily duringspring in waters just shoreward of the Gulf Stream from southern North Carolina to Florida.Most larvae are carried northward bythe Gulf Stream and are dispersed over the continentalslope of the Middle Atlantic Region. Adult bluefish inhabit nearshore areas in the SouthAtlantic Region during their southerly migration in fall and winter. Larval bluefish eatmostly copepods, cladocerans, and invertebrate eggs; juveniles eat larger invertebratesand fishes. Adult bluefish eat fishes and seem to prefer schooling coastal species.Bluefish have been reported to avoid areas of low dissolved oxygen. Water turbidity mayaffect feeding because bluefish rely on vision to locate prey. Environmental disturbanceswhich affect the dissolved oxygen concentration or turbidity of estuarine and nearshorewaters may, therefore, affect bluefish distribution and feeding.

17. Document Analysis a. Descriptors

EstuariesFishesGrowth

b. Identiflers/Openl.nded Terms

Bluefish SpawningPomatomus saltatrix FisheriesHabitat

c. COSATI Fleld/Group

IS. Availabilty Statement 19. Sacurt Class (This Report) 21. No. of Pages

Unl imi ted Di stri buti on Uncl as sified 13

20. Security Class 9'his Pace) 22. PH"c

uncl assiftied(St* ANSI-M3.18) OPTIONAL FORM 272 (4-771

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