Register      Login
Marine and Freshwater Research Marine and Freshwater Research Society
Advances in the aquatic sciences
Shopping Cart: ( empty )
You are here: Home > Journals > MF > MF04222
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 56(4)

Movement and juvenile recruitment of mangrove jack, Lutjanus argentimaculatus (Forsskål), in northern Australia

D. J. Russell A C and A. J. McDougall B
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Northern Fisheries Centre, PO Box 5396, Cairns, Qld 4870, Australia.

B Department of Natural Resources, PO Box 1143, Bundaberg, Qld 4670, Australia.

C Corresponding author. Email: john.russell@dpi.qld.gov.au

Marine and Freshwater Research 56(4) 465-475 https://doi.org/10.1071/MF04222
Submitted: 19 August 2004  Accepted: 6 April 2005   Published: 27 June 2005

Abstract

Lutjanus argentimaculatus, tagged and released in coastal rivers and estuaries, were found to have made inter- and intra-riverine, coastal and offshore movements. A small proportion of the recaptures made offshore movements to reef habitats of up to 315 km and these recaptures were fish that were at liberty, on average, more than twice as long as those fish that had made intra-riverine movements. Most juvenile fish <400-mm length to caudal fork (LCF) resident in rivers were recaptured less than a kilometre from where they were released. The proportion of fish making sizeable movements increased with increasing recapture size, with about of 20% of larger fish (400–500-mm LCF) making offshore, inter-riverine or coastal movements. Larger fish were primarily caught offshore, whereas smaller fish <~338-mm LCF were exclusively caught in estuarine and freshwater habitats. Recruitment of juveniles into estuarine and lower freshwater riverine habitats occurred from about February. There was temporal variability of recruitment of mangrove jack into some river systems and their relative abundance within the river system was inversely proportional to the distance from the sea. Overfishing of juveniles when they are concentrated in inshore areas could have adverse implications for mangrove jack stocks.

Extra keywords: Great Barrier Reef, lutjanids, migration, snappers.


Acknowledgments

We gratefully acknowledge the assistance of many recreational and commercial fishers who provided information on tag returns. In particular, we wish to thank Mr Bill Sawynok of Infofish Services for providing up-to-date tag and recapture information from the SUNTAG database and for entering our information into that database. We also acknowledge the help given by Mr Graham Hopkirk of the fish processor ‘A Fine Kettle of Fish’ for allowing us to measure and sample commercial catches on his premises. Staff at the Northern Fisheries Centre, in particular Mr Adam Fletcher and Ms Sarah Kistle, provided invaluable technical assistance during the project and Mr Bob Mayer assisted with statistical analyses. We also wish to thank Dr Marcus Sheaves and two anonymous referees for providing constructive comments on earlier drafts of this manuscript. This project was partially funded by a grant from the Fisheries Research Development Corporation.


References

Allen G. R. (1985). Lutjanus argentimaculatus (Forsskål, 1775). In ‘FAO Species Catalogue, Volume 6. Snappers of the World. An Annotated and Illustrated Catalogue of Lutjanid Species Known to Date’. pp. 58–60. (FAO: Rome.)

Allen G. R. (1987). Synopsis of the circumtropical fish genus Lutjanus (Lutjanidae). In ‘Biology and Fisheries Management’. (Eds J. J. Polovina and S. Ralston.) pp. 33–87. (Westview Press: Boulder, CO.)

Allen G. R. (1991). ‘Field Guide to the Freshwater Fishes of New Guinea.’ (Christensen Research Institute: Madang.)

Anderson W. D., and Allen G. R. (2001). Lutjanidae – snappers (jobfish). In ‘FAO Species Identification Guide for Fishery Purposes. The Living Marine Resources of the Western Central Pacific. Bony Fishes Part 3 (Menidae to Pomacentridae). Vol. 5’. (Eds K. E. Carpenter and V. H. Niem.) pp. 2791–3380. (FAO: Rome.)

Aumend J. F. (2003). An assessment of the use of otolith microchemical analysis for identifying otogenetic migrations of mangrove jack Lutjanus argentimaculatus from estuarine nursery habitats to offshore waters of the Great Barrier Reef. In ‘Biology, Management and Genetic Stock Structure of Mangrove Jack (Lutjanus argentimaculatus) in Australia’. (Eds D. J. Russell, A. J. McDougall, A. S. Fletcher, J. R. Ovenden and R. Street.) pp. 165–181. (Queensland Department of Primary Industries: Brisbane.)

Bagenal T. B., and Tesch F. W. (1978). Age and growth. In ‘Methods for Assessment of Fish Production in Fresh Waters’. (Ed. T. Bagenal.) pp. 101–136. (Blackwell Scientific Publications: Oxford.)

Brouard F., and Grandperrin R. (1984). Notes et Documents D’Oceanographie. Institut Francais de Recherche Scientifique, Port Vila.

Cappo, M. , Eden, P. , Newman, S. J. , and Robertson, S. (2000). A new approach to validation of periodicity and timing of opaque zone formation in the otolith of eleven species of Lutjanus from the central Great Barrier Reef. Fishery Bulletin (Washington, D.C.) 98, 474–488.
Day J. H., Blaber S. J. M., and Wallace J. H. (1981). Estuarine fishes. In ‘Estuarine Ecology with Particular Reference to Southern Africa’. (Ed. J. H. Day.) pp. 197–221. (A.A. Balkema: Rotterdam.)

Dennis, D. M. , Pitcher, C. R. , and Skewes, T. D. (2001). Distribution and transport pathways of Panulirus ornatus (Fabricius, 1776) and Panulirus spp. larvae in the Coral Sea, Australia. Marine and Freshwater Research 52, 1175–1185.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Doi M., and Singhagraiwan T. (1993). Biology and culture of the red snapper, Lutjanus argentimaculatus. Eastern Marine Fisheries Development Center, Bangkok.

Doi, M. , Singhagraiwan, T. S. , Sasaki, M. , and Sungthong, S. (1992). Movement, habitat and growth of the juvenile and young red snapper, Lutjanus argentimaculatus, released in Phe Bay, eastern coast of the Gulf of Thailand during 1989–1991. Thai Marine Fisheries Research Bulletin 3, 79–90.
Grant E. M. (1975). ‘Guide to Fishes.’ (Queensland Coordinator General’s Department: Brisbane.)

Johannes, R. E. (1978). Reproductive strategies of coastal marine fishes in the tropics. Environmental Biology of Fishes 3, 65–84.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Lake J. S. (1971). ‘Freshwater Fishes and Rivers of Australia.’ (Thomas Nelson: Melbourne.)

Leu, M. Y. , Chen, I. H. , and Fang, L. S. (2003). Natural spawning and rearing of mangrove red snapper, Lutjanus argentimaculatus, larvae in captivity. Israeli Journal of Aquaculture 55, 22–30.
Ludescher C. M. (1997). ‘Fisheries Resources between Bowen and Tully.’ (Queensland Fisheries Management Authority: Brisbane.)

Merrick J. R., and Schmida G. E. (1984). ‘Australian Freshwater Fishes. Biology and Management.’ (Griffin Press: Netley.)

Munro I. S. R. (1967). ‘The Fishes of New Guinea.’ (New Guinea Department of Agriculture, Stock and Fisheries: Port Moresby.)

Ovenden, J. R. , and Street, R. (2003). Genetic population structure of mangrove jack, Lutjanus argentimaculatus (Forsskål). Marine and Freshwater Research 54, 127–137.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Russell D. J., McDougall A. J., Fletcher A. S., Ovenden J. R., and Street R. (Eds) (2003). ‘Biology, Management and Genetic Stock Structure of Mangrove Jack (Lutjanus argentimaculatus) in Australia.’ (Queensland Department of Primary Industries: Brisbane.)

Sheaves, M. (1995). Large lutjanid and serranid fishes in tropical estuaries: are they adults or juveniles? Marine Ecology Progress Series 129, 31–40.


Watterson, J. C. , Patterson, W. F. , Shipp, R. L. , and Cowan, J. H., (1998). Movement of red snapper, Lutjanus campechanus, in the north central Gulf of Mexico: potential effects of hurricanes. Gulf of Mexico Science 16, 92–104.