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2000 Sheepshead Stock Assessment

This article provides an assessment of the status of Sheepshead in Florida waters through 1999, including information about commercial landings, recreational catch, and additional statistics.

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Assessment of the status of sheepshead in Florida waters through 1999

Michael D. Murphy and Tim C. MacDonald
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
Florida Marine Research Institute
St. Petersburg, FL

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This assessment is the first reliable analysis of the effect of 1995 and 1996 management actions on the status of sheepshead in Florida. The last assessment (Murphy et al. 1997) was conducted with access to only one year of post-regulation data.

There was about a 60% drop in commercial landings of sheepshead on both coasts of Florida between the periods 1986–94 and 1996–99. Nearly all landings are now made using cast net or hook-and-line. Throughout the period 1986–9, few fishermen landed large amounts of sheepshead in any year. Sizes of landed sheepshead increased after implementation of the minimum size limit and most landed now are over 12" fork length.

The recreational catch of sheepshead has historically fluctuated year-to-year but the annual catches on both coasts for each of the last three years have been well below peak catch levels. The lengths of sheepshead landed has increased with a large decrease in the numbers of small (less than 10" fork length) killed. In addition, the bag-limit has been effective in reducing the kill of sheepshead. Before the bag limit, about 17–20% of the catch was made by anglers keeping more than 15 fish per trip, now that catch is only about 2% of the landings made on each coast.

The combined statewide harvest of sheepshead in Florida during 1999 was 1,352,000 fish or 3,269,000 lbs. The majority of sheepshead harvest was taken by the recreational fishery: 89% and 96% of the total Atlantic and Gulf coast landings by number, respectively.

The estimated abundance of sheepshead ages 1 and older did not show any trend during 1986–99. Estimated abundance for these ages in 1999 was 7.3 million fish on the Atlantic coast and 14.3 million fish on the Gulf coast.

Recruitment of young-of-the-year sheepshead has been fairly steady during 1986–99 with occasional peaks seen on the Gulf coast, especially in 1994 and 1997.

Under the current low harvest rates for young sheepshead, the fisheries are operating at well below the maximum yield-per-recruit and even below the yield-per-recruit associated with F_0.1. A moderate increase in fishing mortality for sheepshead on both coasts would allow for a large increase in yield-per-recruit.

Transitional spawning potential ratios (tSPR) have increased steadily since 1996 and estimates for 1999 were 47% on the Atlantic coast and 49% on the Gulf coast. With continued fishing at 1999 levels, the tSPR would eventually increase to 60% on the Atlantic coast and 53% on the Gulf coast.

Both Atlantic coast and Gulf coast stocks of sheepshead in Florida appear abundant enough to produce adequate supplies of new recruits while maintaining the current levels of harvest.

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For more information:

Stock Assessments: View other stock assessments for finfish and invertebrates.
Sheepshead Species Account: View the sheepshead species account.

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Prior to July 1, 2004, the Fish and Wildlife Research Institute was known as the Florida Marine Research Institute. The institute name has not been changed in historical articles and articles that directly reference work done by the Florida Marine Research Institute.