Despite 30 years of relatively strict management measures, the Red Porgy Pagrus pagrus population off the southeast U.S. Atlantic coast has not met rebuilding goals and was still categorized as overfished over a decade after a moratorium (SEDAR 2020). The lack of recovery indicates that limiting fishing pressure is not enough to effectively manage population levels. Population size may be driven by spatial or habitat associations independent of fishing pressure. We defined spatial distribution and habitat associations of Red Porgy adults and recruits by using a 23‐year, fishery‐independent trap catch time series (1996–2019). Abundance of recruits was below the long‐term average, and adults were declining for the last 8 years of the time series. In addition, the spatial distribution of recruits tended to contract to deeper waters in the center of the region when abundance was low, whereas adults remained relatively consistent in their spatial and depth distribution regardless of abundance. The independence between effective area occupied and adult abundance supports that adults persisted throughout the region, whereas recruit area occupied was proportional to abundance. Recruits and adults overlapped spatially, but there was some partitioning of habitats: recruits were more abundant in less‐complex habitats (low benthic biota coverage and low availability of hard substrate) relative to more complex habitats, and adults were more abundant in more complex or warm habitats than in less‐complex or cooler habitats. When overall abundance was reduced, adult abundance in more complex habitats became more similar to abundance in less‐complex habitats, while there was little to no change in recruit habitat use. The center of the region had a high overlap of adults and recruits, particularly in times of reduced recruitment. If fishers cannot target adults only, there is high potential for bycatch mortality or reduced fitness for recruits, which would further reduce the likelihood of recovery.

中文翻译：

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美国东南大西洋沿岸水域红藻的空间分布变化和生境利用

尽管有30多年相对严格的管理措施，但Red Porgy Pagrus pagrus在美国东南沿海以外的人口尚未达到重建目标，在禁令实施后的十年中，仍被归类为过度捕捞（SEDAR 2020）。缺乏恢复表明限制捕捞压力不足以有效管理人口水平。种群大小可能由与捕捞压力无关的空间或栖息地关联所驱动。我们通过使用23年，独立于渔业的诱捕时间序列（1996-2019年）定义了红豚鼠成年和新兵的空间分布和栖息地关联。新兵的数量低于长期平均水平，并且在该时间序列的最后8年中，成年人的人数正在下降。此外，当丰度较低时，新兵的空间分布往往会收缩到该区域中心的较深水域，而成年人无论其丰度如何，在空间和深度分布上都保持相对一致。有效面积和成年人数量之间的独立性支持成年人在整个区域内持续存在，而新兵的占领面积与数量成正比。新兵和成年人在空间上重叠，但栖息地有所划分：相对较复杂的栖息地，新兵在较不复杂的栖息地（底栖生物区覆盖率低且硬质基质的利用率较低）中更为丰富，而成年人在较复杂的栖息地中则更为丰富。温暖的栖息地比不那么复杂或凉爽的栖息地。当总体丰度降低时，较复杂的生境中的成年丰度变得与较不复杂的生境中的丰度更相似，而新兵栖息地的使用几乎没有变化。该地区的中部地区成年人和新兵高度重叠，特别是在招募人数减少的时候。如果渔民不能仅以成年人为目标，那么兼捕死亡率或新兵适应性的可能性就很大，这将进一步降低恢复的可能性。