Marine fish species can exhibit sex‐specific differences in their biological traits. Not accounting for these characteristics in the stock assessment or management of a species can lead to misunderstanding its population dynamics and result in ineffective regulatory strategies. Summer Flounder Paralichthys dentatus, a flatfish that supports significant commercial and recreational fisheries along the northeastern U.S. shelf, expresses variation in several traits between the sexes, including growth and habitat preference. To further understand these patterns, 1,302 Summer Flounder were collected and sexed in 2016 and 2017 from fisheries‐independent surveys conducted in Rhode Island state waters. Female flounder were more prevalent in shallow waters (≤15 m) through all months, but males had a greater presence in deeper waters (>15 m) from May through September. The probability of a collected flounder being female was evaluated with generalized linear models and covariates representing depth, temperature, month, year, and TL. Summer Flounder were more likely to be female at larger sizes, in shallower waters, and late in the season. When compared with landings data in the recreational fishery over the sampling period, the results suggest that nearly all flounder harvested in the sector were female. This work provides further evidence for and characterization of Summer Flounder sex‐segregation and highlights, for management purposes, the importance of considering fine‐scale spatial dynamics in addition to broader distribution patterns. The fitted model represents an effective first step toward understanding the implications of an aggregated fishing effort for disproportionate removals of male or female flounder and for exploring resulting consequences for regional spawning stock biomass and stock resiliency.

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在新英格兰南部河口评估夏季比目鱼的空间性别隔离

海水鱼类的生物学特征可能表现出性别差异。在物种的种群评估或管理中不考虑这些特征会导致误解其种群动态并导致无效的监管策略。夏季比目鱼Paralichthys dentatus，一种在美国东北陆架上支持重要商业和休闲渔业的比目鱼，在两性之间表现出不同的性状，包括生长和生境偏好。为了进一步了解这些模式，2016年和2017年在罗德岛州水域进行的与渔业无关的调查中收集了1,302只夏季比目鱼，并进行了性别定性。在整个月中，雌性比目鱼在浅水区（≤15 m）中更普遍，但从五月到九月，雄性比目鱼在深水区（> 15 m）中的分布更大。用广义线性模型和代表深度，温度，月，年和TL的协变量评估收集的比目鱼为雌性的可能性。夏季比目鱼更有可能是雌性，体型较大，在浅水区和季节后期。与抽样期内休闲渔业的着陆数据相比，结果表明该部门几乎所有捕捞的比目鱼都是雌性。这项工作为夏季比目鱼性别隔离提供了进一步的证据和特征，并出于管理目的，强调了除了更广泛的分布模式之外，还应考虑精细尺度的空间动力学。拟合模型代表着有效的第一步，有助于理解总的捕捞努力对于不成比例地清除雄性或雌性比目鱼的影响，以及探索对区域产卵种群生物量和种群适应力的后果。这项工作为夏季比目鱼性别隔离提供了进一步的证据和特征，并且出于管理目的，强调了除了更广泛的分布模式之外，还应考虑精细尺度的空间动力学。拟合模型代表着有效的第一步，有助于理解总的捕捞努力对于不成比例地清除雄性或雌性比目鱼的影响，以及探索对区域产卵种群生物量和种群适应力的后果。这项工作为夏季比目鱼性别隔离提供了进一步的证据和特征，并且出于管理目的，强调了除了更广泛的分布模式之外，还应考虑精细尺度的空间动力学。拟合模型代表了迈向了解总捕捞努力对于不成比例地清除雄性或雌性比目鱼的影响以及探索对区域产卵种群生物量和种群适应力产生的后果的有效第一步。