Reef Fish Distributions Off North Carolina and South Carolina as Revealed by Headboat Catches

摘要

Reef fishes of the outer continental shelf of the South Atlantic Bight have supported important recreational headboat fisheries for over two decades and commercial handline and trawl fisheries for about five years. In this paper the authors utilize data from the headboat fishery to present a quantitative description of distributions of several important reef fishes as they are expressed in hook-and-line catches from the outer continental shelf of North Carolina and South Carolina. The authors focus on the species occurring on hard, or 'live' bottom in water deeper than 20 m, where most species are tropical or subtropical.