Great longevity of speckled hind (<i>Epinephelus drummondhayi</i>), a deep-water grouper, with novel use of postbomb radiocarbon dating in the Gulf of Mexico

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  • Allen H. Andrews
    National Marine Fisheries Service – Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, Fish Biology and Stock Assessment Branch – Life History Program, 99-193 Aiea Heights Drive, Suite 417, Aiea, HI 96701, USA.
  • Beverly K. Barnett
    National Marine Fisheries Service – Southeast Fisheries Science Center, Panama City Laboratory, 3500 Delwood Beach Road, Panama City Beach, FL 32408, USA.
  • Robert J. Allman
    National Marine Fisheries Service – Southeast Fisheries Science Center, Panama City Laboratory, 3500 Delwood Beach Road, Panama City Beach, FL 32408, USA.
  • Ryan P. Moyer
    Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Fish and Wildlife Research Institute, 100 8th Avenue SE, St. Petersburg, FL 33701, USA.
  • Hannah D. Trowbridge
    National Marine Fisheries Service – Southeast Fisheries Science Center, Panama City Laboratory, 3500 Delwood Beach Road, Panama City Beach, FL 32408, USA.
  • Bronwyn Gillanders
    editor

Description

<jats:p> Growth characteristics are poorly understood for speckled hind (Epinephelus drummondhayi), a tropical deep-water grouper of economic importance that is considered overfished. Age has been validated for early growth, but the validity of adult age estimates is unknown. A few studies of growth zones in otoliths have revealed maximum age estimates of 15–35 years, which have been uncritically assumed as longevity. To answer questions about adult age, bomb radiocarbon dating was used to provide validated age estimates. A novel aspect of this study was use of the postbomb radiocarbon decline period (ca. 1980–2004) to age younger fish, an approach that was validated with known-age otoliths. Bomb radiocarbon dating provided valid length-at-age estimates ranging from ∼5 years to more than 45 years. Age was unexpectedly greater than previous estimates for more than half the fish used in this study, and longevity may approach 60–80 years. This study extends the utility of bomb radiocarbon dating by more than 20 years and adds to the growing perspective that deep-water tropical fishes can be long-lived. </jats:p>

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