ABSTRACT: Offshore oil and gas platforms in the northern Gulf of Mexico are known aggregation sites for red snapper Lutjanus campechanus. To examine habitat use and potential mortality from explosive platform removals, fine-scale movements of red snapper were estimated based on acoustic telemetry from March 2017 to July 2018. Study sites in the northern Gulf of Mexico, USA, included one platform off coastal Alabama (30.09°N, 87.88°W) and 2 platforms off Louisiana (28.81°N, 91.97°W; 28.92°N, 93.15°W). Red snapper (n = 59) showed a high affinity for platforms, with most (94%) positions being recorded within 95 m of the platforms. Home range areas were correlated with water temperature and inversely correlated with dissolved oxygen concentrations. During summer and fall, red snapper used larger areas and many fish (54%) emigrated from their platforms but most (83%) returned in ≤3 d. Site fidelity for red snapper was 31% yr^-1 and residency time was 7 mo, but the probability-of-presence at platforms was 70% after 1 yr, indicating the importance of platforms for this species. Overall fishing mortality was high for platforms (F = 0.86, 95% CL = 0.47-1.40), but since the stock is managed on a quota basis this high mortality should have little effect on total stock abundance. Thus, platforms can still provide an important habitat for red snapper, and consideration of area use patterns, fishing mortality and environmental factors can reduce red snapper mortality when scheduling explosive platform removals. As such, the present study indicates that an optimum time for explosive removal would be in late summer after the red snapper fishing season is completed.

中文翻译：

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基于声学遥测的红鲷鱼Lutjanus campechanus在墨西哥湾北部油气平台周围的运动模式

摘要：墨西哥湾北部的海上石油和天然气平台是红鲷鱼Lutjanus campechanus的聚集地。为了研究栖息地的使用和爆炸性平台拆除带来的潜在死亡率，根据声学遥测技术，估计了自2017年3月至2018年7月红鲷鱼的小规模运动。美国墨西哥湾北部的研究地点包括阿拉巴马州沿海一个平台（ 30.09°N，87.88°W）和两个位于路易斯安那州外的平台（28.81°N，91.97°W； 28.92°N，93.15°W）。红鲷鱼（n = 59）显示出对平台的高度亲和力，大多数（94％）位置记录在平台的95 m以内。家庭范围区域与水温相关，与溶解氧浓度成反比。在夏季和秋季，红鲷鱼使用的面积更大，许多鱼（54％）从其平台上移出，但大多数（83％）在≤3d内返回。红鲷鱼的站点保真度为31％yr ^-1居住时间为7个月，但1年后平台上的存在概率为70％，这表明平台对该物种的重要性。平台的总体捕捞死亡率很高（F = 0.86，95％CL = 0.47-1.40），但是由于是按配额管理种群，因此这种高死亡率对总种群数量几乎没有影响。因此，平台仍然可以为红鲷鱼提供重要的栖息地，并且在计划爆炸性平台拆除时，考虑到区域使用模式，捕鱼死亡率和环境因素，可以降低红鲷鱼的死亡率。因此，本研究表明，最佳的炸药清除时间是在红鲷鱼捕捞季节结束后的夏末。