NOAA Technical Report NMFS Circular 449 

Synopsis of Biological Data 

on the Pigfish, 

Orthopristis chrysoptera 

(Pisces: Haemulidae) 

George H. Darcy 

March 1983 

FAO Fisheries Synopsis No. 134 

u.s. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

Malcolm Baldrige, Secretary 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 

John V. Byrne, Administrator 

National Marine Fisheries Service 

William G. Gordon, Assistant Administrator for Fisheries 
The National Marine Fisheries Service (~~1f ~) d a not approve, recommenrl or endoLe any proprietary pr due or propri,.tary material 

mentioned in this publication, '0 r ferene hall he made to ~MFS, or 

to this publication furnished by N~1 F. , in nny ad\' rtillng or salea promotion which would indicate or imply that. ';\Y F ' approvel, r comm nds 

or endorses any proprietary product or propn t ry mat rial mentioned 

herein, or which hall a it purpo e an Int nt to cau dlr tly or indir etl)' 

the advertised product to u d or purcha d b cau of thil ' M FS 

publication. 
CONTENTS 

Introduction . ................. ... . . ... ... . ....... . . .... ... ... . . ... .......... . ... . . . ...................... . 

1 Identity . . ................................... . ........ . ... .. ..... . ...................... .. . ........ , . .. . 

1.1 Nomenclature .... ' ....... . ... . ... . . ......... . . ... . . .......... . . ....... . ...... . ................ . ..... . 

1. 11 Valid name . ................. . . . ........... . .............................................. ... .... . 

1.12 Objective synonymy '" .................................... . ...... . . .. ..... . ...................... . 

1.2 Taxonomy ............. . ........... .... ...... ..... .......... . ..... .. . . ............................. . 

1.21 Affinities. ......... . ... .. ............ .. ......... ... ... . . .. . . . . . .. .. . ............ . ... . ........ . ... 1 

1.22 Taxonomic status . .... . . . . . . . . .. .... . . . ... . . . ... . . .. ... . ... . .......... . .......... . ............... " 2 

1.23 Subspecies.... . . . . . ... . ..... . ........................................ ....... ......... ........ .. .. 2 

1-.24 Standard common names, vernacular names ............... . ... . '.' . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 2 

1.3 Morphology .... . ..... .... .......... . .. . .... . . . ......... ........... ......... ................ ......... 2 

1.31 External morphology . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . . . . . .. . .. . . .. . . .. . . ... . . .. . .. 2 

* 1. 32 Cytomorphology 

*1.33 Protein specificity 

2 Distribution.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 3 

2.1 Total area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 3 

2.2 Differential distribution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 3 

2.21 Spawn, larvae, and juveniles ....... , .... , ........... , . . ..... . .. ..... .. .. .... . ..... " . .... .. . .. . .. . ... 3 

2.22 Adults. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 4 

2.3 Determinants of distribution changes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 4 

*2.4 Hybridization 

3 Bionomics and life history . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 4 

3.1 Reproduction ................................................ .. ............................. .. ....... 4 

3.11 Sexuality ......................................................................................... 4 

3.12 Maturity .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 4 

*3. 13 Mating 

3.14 Fertilization ... . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 4 

*3.15 Gonads 

3.16 Spawning ............... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 4 

3. 17 Spawn... ............. . ...................................................... . ................... 5 

3.2 Preadult phase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 5 

3.2 1 Embryonic phase. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 5 

3.22 Larvae and adolescent phase. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 5 

3.3 Adult phase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 9 

3.31 Longevity .............................................................. . .. .... ................... 9 

3.32 Hardiness. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 

3.33 Competitors........................... .......... ....... ............ ... . . ... . . ................... . 9 

3.34 Predators ............................. ... .......................................... ........... .. . 9 

3.35 Parasites, diseases, injuries, and abnormalities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 9 

3.36 Chemical composition. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 9 

3.4 Nutrition and growth. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 9 

3.41 Feeding . ...................................................................... ................... 9 

3.42 Food ................................. . ................... ............................ . .. ........ 12 

3.43 Growth rate ...................................................................................... 14 

3.44 Metabolism .................................... ... ........................... ..... ............ ... 14 

3.5 Behavior. ........ . .................................................................................. 15 

3.51 Migrations and local movements ...................................................................... 15 

3.52 Schooling ..................................................................... ........ ........... 15 

*3.53 Responses to stimuli 

4 Population. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 

4.1 Structure . ......................................... ... .................. ....... ..................... . 15 

4.11 Sex ratio ..................................................................... ....... ........ . .... 15 

4.12 Age composition ............................................................................ ... ... 15 

4.13 Size composition ............................................................... . ......... ......... 15 

*4.14 Subpopulations 

4.2 Abundance and density .......... ............................ .. . .. .. ..... ........ , ..................... 17 

4.3 Natality and recruitment ....... . ................................................. . ..................... 18 

*4.31 Reproduction rates 

4.32 Factors affecting reproduction ............... .......... ....... ............................... . ........ 18 

4.33 Recruitment ............................... ......... ...... ........ .... . .. .. .. ................ ..... 18 

1lI 
*4.4 Mortality and mortlldlty 

*4.5 Dynamics of population 

4.6 The population In the commumty lind thc ecnsy,tel11 . 

5 ExploitatIOn . . . . . . .. . .. . 5. 1 FI~hl~g l:qulpment . . . . . . . . ....... . 5.2 Fishmg areas 

5 3 Flshmg ~ea,ons 

5.4 FI~hmg operations and resu 11\ .. . 

5.41 EtfMt and mtenslt) '" ... . 

*5 42 clectlvlt} 

5.43 Catches 

*6 Protection and management 

*6 . J Regulatory measures 

*7 Pond fish culture 

Acknowledgments 

Llteratup Cited 

'No mformatlon available . 

II! 

1'1 

1'1 

1'1 

19 

19 

14 

19 

21 

22 
Synopsis of Biological Data on the PigfIsh, 

Orthopristis chrysoptera (Pisces: Haemulidae)l 

George H. Darcyl 

ABSTRACT 

Information on the biology and resources of the pigfish , Orlhopristis chrysoplera, is compiled, reviewed, 

and analyzed in the FAO species synopsis style. 

INTRODUCTION 

The pigfish , Orthopristis ehrysoptera, is a common, nearshore 

haemulid fish of the southeastern Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico 

coasts of the United States and Mexico. Although not a major 

commercial species, it is of some economic importance in areas 

such as Chesapeake Bay and the coasts of North Carolina and Florida and is a frequently caught recreational species; it is considered a 

good quality food fish and is used locally for bait. Because of its 

abundance , it is an important member of shallow-water eelgrass 

(Zostera) and turtlegrass (Thalassia) communities. The pigfish 

also occurs offshore in deeper water where it is caught as by catch 

by shrimp trawlers. This is a summary of pertinent biological data 

concerning this species. 

1 IDENTITY 

1.1 Nomenclature 

1. 11 Valid name 

Orthopristis ehrysoptera (Linnaeus, 1766) (Fig. 1). 

Pigfish, Orthopristis ehrysoptera (Linnaeus, 1766:485) type 

locality: Charleston, South Carolina. The name comes from the 

Greek orthos (straight) and pristes (file or saw), referring to the 

evenly serrated preopercle (Jordan and Fesler 1893), and the Greek 

ehrysos (gold) and pter (wing or fin), probably referring to the 

sometimes gold-tinged fins. 

1.12 Objective synonymy 

The following synonymy is based on the work of Jordan and 

Fesler (1893), Hildebrand and Schroeder (1928), and Konchina 

(1976): 

Perea ehrysoptera Linnaeus, 1766 

Labrus Julvomaeulatus Mitchill, 1814 

PristipomaJulvomaeulatum. many authors 

Pristipomafaseiatum Cuvier and Valenciennes, 1830 

'Contribution No. 83-07M of the Southeast Fisheries Center. 

2Southeast Fisheries Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA, 75 Virginia Beach Drive, Miami, FL 33149. 

Orthopristis duplex Girard, 1859 

Orthopristis Julvomaeulatus. Uhler and Lugger, 1876 

PomadasysJulvomaeulatus. Jordan and Gilbert, 1882 

Orthopristis ehrysopterus. Bean, 1891 

1.2 Taxonomy 

1 .21 Affinities 

Suprageneric 

Phylum: Chordata 

Class: Osteichthyes 

Superorder: Acanthopterygii 

Order: Perciformes 

Suborder: Percoidei 

Family: Haemulidae 

Systematics and distribution of the family Haemulidae were 

reviewed by Konchina (1976), who listed several previously recognized families (Gaterinidae, Pomadasidae, Prisinpomidae, Plectorhinchidae, and Xenichthyidae) now included in Haemulidae. 

Although recent usage has favored the family name Pomadasyidae, 

Haemulidae is an earlier name which should be applied (Robins et 

al. 1980). 

Generic 

Members of the genus Orthopristis are probably most closely 

related to those of the genus Pomadasys, differing primarily in having a longer anal fin (ill, 9-13 vs. ill, 6- 7), smaller scales, and less 

well developed dorsal fin spines (Jordan and Fesler 1893; Courtenay and Sahlman 1978). 

The following ·description of the genus is derived from Courtenay and Sahlman (1978): "Chin with a central groove behind the 

symphysis of the lower jaw; ... Preopercle rather finely serrate, 

none of the serrae directed forward; soft portions of dorsal and anal 

fins naked or with scales at their basal parts; body rather elongate, 

the head long; snout pointed; lips thin; anal fin long, with 3 spines 

and 9 to 13 soft rays." 

Synonyms of Orthopristis include: 

Mierolepidotus Gill, 1862 

Pristoeantharus Gill, 1862 

Isaeiella Jordan and Fesler, 1893 
Figure 1.- dull Orthopri lis chrysoplua. (From Goode 11IS4 . pl' Ie 146 .1 

Specific 

The following specie diagnosi i from Courtenay and Sahlman 

(1978): "Body ovate-elliptical, considerably compressed, lIS Jeplh 

contained 2. 6 to 3.0 limes in standard length [SL] ... dorsal- und 

anal-fin spines enclosed in a deep scaly sheath. the soft ray naked. 

Pored lateral-line scales 55 to 58; 10 longitudinal rows of scale\ 

above, arul19 rows below the lateral line." 

Orthopristis chr,vsoptera is di tingui hed from 0. poeyi. which 

occurs only in Cuba, and O. ruber, which occurs from Honduras to 

Brazil, by the characters listed in Table 1. 

Table I.-Distinguishing characters of three species of OrlllOpnslis. (From 

Courtenay and Sahlrnan 1978.) 

Character O. chrysoplera O.poey; O. ruba 

Standard length/ 

body depth 2.6-3.0 30-3.3 2.4-27 

Pored lateral line scales 55-58 53-55 52-55 

Longitudinal scale rows 

below lateral line 19 15 15 

Anal fin rays 12-13 12-13 9-11 

Gill rakers in lower limb 

of first arch 12 12 15 

1.22 Taxonomic status 

Orthopristis chrysoptera is generally considered a morphospecies, separated from the other two species of Orthopristis in the 

western Atlantic by the characters listed in Table 1. No electrophoretic data are available. 

1\10 sub~pcclc are recognILed. 

1.24 ommon and vernacular names 

The gencrall) accepted .:ommon name of O. chrysoplera in the 

nited States is pigri~h (RobIns et al. 19 0). Other common names 

appearing in the Illerature include: ailor" cholct: (Smith 1907. 

Beebe and Tee-Van 1933; Hoese and IOOfe 1977). hogh h (HIldebrand and Schroeder 1928). red-mouthed grunt (Jordan et al 

1930)' pIggy perch (Gunter 1945). and big perch (Hoe e 195 ) 

Standard FAO vernacular name are' Engli h, pigfi h; French. 

goret mule, SpanIsh. corocoro burro (Courtenay and ahlman 

1978) 

1.3 Morphology 

1.31 External morpholog) 

Head 2.7-3.05 in SL; depth 2.3-2.65 in SL; dorsal fin ray XIII, 

15-17; anal fin rays III, 12 or 13; cales 71-77; body elongate. 

compressed, back elevated; head moderate; nout long, tapering. 

2.2-3 in head; eye 3.6-5 in head; Interorbital 3.85-4.7 in head; 

mouth moderate, terminal, a little oblique; maxillary reaching vertical from first nostril, 3-3.4 in head; teeth In the jaws small, 

pointed, in broad bands; gill rakers short, 12 on lower limb of first 

arch; scales small, ctenoid, firm, in oblique rows above lateral line 

and horizontal rows below it, extending on base of caudal, pelvics, 

and pectorals, also forming a low sheath on base of anal and dorsals; dorsal fin continuous, low, spines rather slender, origin of fin 

over or slightly in advance of pectoral base; caudal fin deeply con-
cave, upper lobe longest; anal fin with three rather strong, graduated spines; pelvic fins moderate, inserted a little behind base of 

pectorals; pectorals rather long, 1.2- 1.55 in head (Hildebrand and 

Schroeder 1928). 

Color is bluish with purplish' reflections above, becoming paler 

to silvery below; sides of head and back with golden or brassy 

markings, variable, forming more or less distinct lines; dorsal fin 

clear with bronze spots; caudal and pectoral fins translucent; anal 

fin whitish to dusky, base and middle parts sometimes tinged with 

yellow; pelvics white to slightly dusky; stripes visible in juveniles 

(Hildebrand and Schroeder 1928). 

See 1.21. 

2 DISTRIBUTION 

2. I Total area 

The pigfish is distributed from Massachusetts (Hoese and Moore 

1977) and Bermuda to the southern tip of Florida, and throughout 

the Gulf ofMexico to the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico (Briggs 1958; 

Courtenay and Sahlman 1978) (Fig. 2). 

The pigfish is primarily an inhabitant of shallow water, often 

entering bays and estuaries (Smith 1907; Nichols and Breder 1927; 

Schwartz 1964; Richards and Castagna 1970; Perret et al. 1971; 

Dahlberg 1972; Shealy et al. 1974; Konchina 1977; Hoese and 

Moore 1977), and even canals (Roessler 1970), though avoiding 

extremely low salinity. A variety of habitats are accepted, including 

mud or sand bottom (Tabb and Manning 1961 ; Courtenay and 

Sahlman 1978), hard substrates such as rock jetties and reefs (Hastings 1972), and offshore platforms (Hastings et al. 1976). Pigfish 

also occur offshore in coastal and open-shelf habitats off the southeastern United States (Struhsaker 1969) and in the Gulf of Mexico 

(Springer and Woodburn 1960; Chittenden and Moore 1977). 

Hildebrand (1954) reported pigfish from shell banks off Campeche, Mexico, while Chittenden and McEachran (1976) reported 

them common on pink shrimp grounds and present on white shrimp 

grounds in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico, but absent from gulf 

brown shrimp grounds. 

See 2.3,3.32. 

20· 

,o·~mm~~~~ggJ '0· eo· 70· 60· '0· '00· 

Figure 2.-Distribution of Orthopristis chrysoptera. (Based on Hoese and 

Moore 1977; Courtenay and Sabiman 1978.) 

2.2 Differential distribution 

2.21 Spawn, larvae, and juveniles 

Pigfish eggs are buoyant and unattached (Hildebrand and Cable 

1930) and probably planktonic. Larvae were commonly collected 

by Houde et al. (19793

) in the eastern Gulf of Mexico (Fig. 3), and 

were more abundant in the northern part of the survey area than in 

the southern part. No pigfish larvae were found at stations where 

depth exceeded 31 m, and 75% were collected at stations <20 m 

deep; largest catches occurred at stations < 10 m deep. Pigfish larvae were most abundant in winter and spring in the survey area. 

Small juveniles occur near the bottom in nearshore areas. Towers 

(1928) found 7 mm (SL) young common near inshore islands in the 

vicinity of Beaufort, N.C. Hildebrand and Cable (1930) speculated 

that 3 to 11 mm (type of length measurement unspecified) young 

lived in or very near sand bottom near Beaufort, since such individuals were found only in sand samples. Smallest specimens (12.5 

mm SL) collected by Springer and Woodburn (1960) in Tampa Bay. 

Fla., appeared in April, as did the smallest (9 .1 + mm SL) collected 

by Hastings (1972) near St. Andrew Bay, Fla .. jetties. Smallest 

juveniles (12-15 mm, measurement unspecified) observed by 

Adams (1976a) at Beaufort appeared in eelgrass beds in May. 

Hildebrand and Schroeder (1928) reported young fish (10-15 cm, 

measurement unspecified) very common in lower Chesapeake Bay 

in fall. Gunter (1945) and Hildebrand (1954) found the smallest 

pigfish in shallow bays along the Texas coast. 

Larger juveniles also appear to be most abundant in shallow 

nearshore habitats. Tabb and Manning (1961) collected juveniles 

from July to October in the Whitewater Bay area of southwestern 

Florida, Franks (1970) collected young in June at Horn Island, 

Miss., and Grimes and Mountain (1971) found that young-of-the3Houde, E. D .. J. C. Leak, C. E. Dowd , S. A. Berkeley, and W. J. Richards. 1979. 

lchlhyoplanklon abundance and diversily in lhe eaSlern Gulf of Mexico. Report to 

the Bureau of Land Management under Contract No. AA550-CT7-28, 546 p. 

280 

26 0 ORTHCPR I STI S 

CHRYSQPTERA 

~o m.\ ... ~ ....... _!,, ___ ~ . . .... .. '50 m~........ • • • •• " 

"',' ... ..... . 200m 

. ~,., .... -\ . "\ .... . 

.. \ .... ····r· .. \~. . • e, . 

. . 

" ..... . • e. \\ 

... '\. e\. , , ... \ ... '\ ... t .. • \\';\1 

'~ "'.\\l 

... \.. .", .. '\' .. . _\ 

" .~\". " ' .. ;. .. , , . ~ ., \. 

\. ; ••• • • j ' ... : ....• / ~,...,.. 

........ ~ .. J .. ~~ __ S;~-., -

24·L---------~6~670--------~6~4~·--------~62~·.-------~60· 

Figure 3.-Stations at which Orthopristis chrysoptera larne occurred at least 

once during 17 cruises in the eastern Gulf of Mexico, 1<n1-74. (From Houde el 

al. teA1 footnote 3, fig. 105.) 
year (50 mm SL) pigfish appeared in June trawl samples at Crystal 

River, Fla. On intertidal flats in North Carolina, young are common in spring and summer, but caree in winter (Peterson and 

Peterson 19794). 

Juveniles may occasionally associate with small individuals of 

other species. Wang and Raney ( 1971) collected young pig fish 

(16-25 mm SL) in mixed schools With small pinrish. uI/:odllll 

rhomboides, in Charlotte Harbor, Fla. 

See 3. 16. 

2.22 Adult 

Adult pigfish occur in nearshore areas throughout their range and 

may enter estuaries and other brackish areas (Smith 1907; Kon 

china 1977). Adults are common on intertidal flats III North Carn 

lina in spring and ummer (Peterson and Peterson footnote 4), anti 

in shallow water in Florida Bay from September to March (Tahh 

and Manning 1961). Springer and Woodburn (1960) reported that 

pigfish were not as abundant in Tampa Bay as they were at Cetlar 

Key, Fla., and along the northern gulf coast; abundance appeared 

to decrease from north to south along the gulf coast of Florida. 

Pigfish also occur offshore, 'uch as on shell banks off Campeche, Mexico (Hildebrand 1954). on white shrimp ground~ otl 

central Texas (Cody et al. 1978~), on offshore reefs and platforms In 

the northern Gulf of Mexico (Hastings 1972; Hastings et at. 1976), 

and in open-shelf habitats along the southeastern AtlantiC coast of 

the United States (Anderson 1968, Struhsaker 1969). 

See 3.51, 4.2. 

2.3 Determinants of distribution changes 

The primary factors affecting dlstnbutlon of plgfish appear to be 

temperature and growth stage of the fi h. Seasonality in distribution 

and abundance has been reported throughout the range 

Low water temperatures are apparently aVOided by plgfish; plgfish migrate from shallow water to deeper water in winter (Hi ldebrand and Cable 1930; Gunter 1945; Reid 1954; Wang and Raney 

1971; Grimes 1971; Hastings 1972; Ogren and Brusher 1977; 

Naughton and Sal oman 1978) and are often absent in hallow water 

in winter and early spring due to low temperature . Reid (1954) 

found pig fish most abundant at 25.2°C at Cedar Key. In Sl. 

Andrew Bay, Hastings (1972) reported that pig fish were totally 

absent from shallow water when the temperature was 12°-14°C; 

adults reappeared as the water warmed, and were abundant at 

16.5°-31°C. Periods of greatest inshore abundance correspond to 

periods of highest water temperature. Scarcity of pigfish in tropical 

waters could be due to a preference for somewhat lower water temperature or avoidance of competition with numerous tropical 1utjanids and haemulids (Hastings 1972). Robins (pers. commun. as 

cited in Springer and Woodburn 1960) noted that pigfish, though 

rare in the Miami, Fla., area, became temporarily abundant after a 

cold wave in 1957-58. 

Small pigfish generally occur in shallower water than adults 

(Gunter 1945) and first appear inshore in spring. 

'Peterson, C. H., and N. M. Peterson. 1979. The ecology of intertidal flats or 

North Carolina: A community profile. Report prepared for National Coastal Ecosystem Team, U.S. Fish Wildl. Serv., FWS/OBS-79/39, 73 p. 

5Cody, T. J. , K. W. Rice, and C. E. Bryan. 1978. Commercial fish and penaeid 

shrimp studies, northwestern Gulf of Mexico. Pt. II. Abundance and distribution of 

fauna on the white shrimp, Penaeus seti/erus (Linnaeus), grounds off the central 

Texas coast. Coastal Fish. Branch, Tex . Parks Wildl. Dep., P.L. 88-309. Proj . 2-

276-R, 39 p. 

Salinity may abo have some Influence on distribution, all pIgfhh 

< 50 mm total length (TL) and all pIgflSh ..> 200 mm TL collected 

on the Texa~ coast by Gunter (1945) were taken <It saltniues over 

250 % 0 No speclmen~ were collected at < 10.0 % 0 (Gunter 

1945) 

See 2 2 1.2.22.2 3. and 1.32 . 

1 BIONOMICS AND LIrE HISTORY 

3 I Reproduc tion 

1 I I SexualllY 

There IS no C\ ide nee of sex reversal_ or hermaphrodill m. Sexes 

<Ire \epamte. 0 mention of external ~e:(Ual dimoll'hlsm wa\ found 

In thc Illemture 

Sec 4.11. 

3 12 Matunty 

PlgII\h prohably mature In the econJ )ear of life ITay lor 1916): 

smalle~t mature '>pcclnlen, cnllected by Hildebrand and able 

(1930) were 200-215 mm 'r L 

3.14 reniltlatlOn 

Fcnililation i~ probabl} external, as in lther haemultd . 

3.16 pay,ning 

Spawning in pigfish ~x:cu~ pnmanl) in spnng (Table 2). though 

a limited amount mal occur In y, Inter and la ls for up to cveral 

months ome \.\oorkers (Reid 1954) have speculated that more than 

one spa\.\onlng peak may o.;<..ur In a year, but others (Grimes and 

Mountain 1971. Houde et al footno te 3) have found only one peak 

(Figs. 4.5). Spa\.\omng may occur in open y, ater JU t pnorto In hore 

migratIOn (Hastings 1972) or In qUiet In hore \\ aters. uch as harhors. estuane~. and Inshore bank (Hildebrand and Cable 1930). 

but may begin on outer hores first. 

Table 2.- pa\\ ning eason of Orthopristis chrysoprua from, ariOU5 localities 

as iodicated in the literature. 

LocatIon Spa'" nmg season Rererence 

Chesapeal..e Bay May- June HIldebrand and Schroeder 

1928 

North Carolona Ma)- June Smllh 1907 

Beaurort. N C May (eggs found) Towers 1928 

mid-March-Iate June HIldebrand and Cable 

tpeak on May) 1930 

Tampa Bay. Fla . March- May pnnger and Woodburn 

1960 

Crystal Rive r, Fla . March Gnmes and Mountain 

1971 

Cedar Key. Fla. Spnng Reid 1954 

(possibly a second 

later peak) 

Atligator Harbor. Fla. March Joseph and Yerger 1956 

St. Andrew Bay. Fla. March- April Hastings 1972 

Eastern Gulr or Mexico January- May Houde et at. 

(larvae in plankton (text footnote 3) 

samples) 

Horn Island. Miss. Spring Franks 1970 

Port Aransas, Tex . March- April Guoter 1945 
... SO" 

Figure 4.-Estimated mean abundance (number under 10 m2 of~ea wrCace) of 

OrlhopriSlis chrysoplera larvae in the eastern GulfofMexico. J971-74. (From 

Houde et al. text footnote 3, fig. J04.) 

Pigfish spawn at dusk (1600-2000 h) exclUSively (Tower.. 1928; 

Hildebrand and Cable 1930). In general. larger fish spawn first. 

with smaller ones spawning latest in the season (Hildebrand and 

Cable 1930). Egg probably are not all shed at the arne time; partially spent fish are common (Hildebrand and Cable 1930). Pigfish 

are noticeably thin during the spawning season. gaining weight progressively during summer and fall (Hildebrand and Schroeder 

1928). 

3.17 Spawn 

Eggs are spherical , buoyant, and unattached. with a diameter of 

0.7-0.8 mm. They are highly transparent. usually with one large 

(0.16 mm) oil globule and are similar in appearance to eggs of the 

silver perch. Bairdiella chrysoura (Hildebrand and Cable 1930). 

Eggs are presumed to be planktonic. 

3.2 Preadult phase 

3.21 Embryonic phase 

Cleavage of the germinal disk of the egg i '"'1pid (Fig. 6A). With 

the 2-cell stage being reached in 30 min (Fig. 6B, 6C). the 4-cell 

... 

OIIITIfOHIUU 

"', 

• 0 . . , 

,. .. ~. '.'-:':':' . . '\ .... . . . \ .... . . \ ..\..", .. . .. . :\ .. . . . : \' .. ........ .\. ........ . {JI:rolONl.' I I 

... \' .. . . .. \ .... . ........ 

3.:!:! Lan al! anJ aJol 

The following d~ cnpllon oj 1.ln 

(1928) and Hl!dehmnd and ahlc: (I q ) 

the larva swims upnght. 

At 3.1 mm TL. the lana hl!" 

well 10 ad.ance of mldhlxl) (h 

notoLhoru IS strongl) ~un~d 

hecomlOg differenllatcd. 

~===rr:==--,.t.. •. ;------'; ... ;:-----..lIlO' ... l!::====tii'''''---, .. t...;------.; ... ;:-----!_ 

Ilh th nl 

I \ 
A B c 

D 

G H 

Figure 6.-Embryonic stages of Orthopristis chrysoptera. A. Egg witb fully developed blastodisc, a few minutes after fertilization, ca. 0.75 mm in diameter. B. Egg in 2-

cell stage, ca. 30 min after fertilization. C. Dorsal view of B. D. Egg in 4-cell stage, ca. 45 min after fertilization, dorsal view. E. Egg in 8-cell stage, ca. I b after 

fertilization, dorsal view. F. Egg in late cleavage stage. G. Egg witb developing embryo, sbowing distribution of chromatopbores, ca. 24 b after fertilization. H. Egg 

witb well developed embryo, ca. 36 b after fertilization. (From Hildebrand and Cable 1930, figs. 16-23.) 
A 

" .... ', .' ....... .. ...... 

B 

i 

c 

D 

E 

Figure 7.-Larval stages of Orthopristis chrysoptera. A. Yolk-sac larva, newly hatched, 1.5 mm TL. B. Yolk-sac larva, 1 d 

after hatching, 2.5 mm TL. C. Ventral view of B. D. Yolk-sac larva, 2.5 d after hatching, 3 mm TL. E. Larva, 2.8 mm TL. 

(From Hildebrand and Cable 1930, figs. 24-28.) 

7 
", • ..... .. "", .. :" ... , .. . .. : .... 

A 

B 

c 

Figure S.-Larval stages of Orthopristis chrysiJptera. A. Larva, 3.1 mm TL. B. Larva, 4.9 mm TL. C. Larva, 6.7 mm TL. 

D. Larva, 10 mm TL. E. Larva, 11 mm TL. (From Hildebrand and Cable 1930, figs. 29-33.) 
By 10.0 mm TL, the body has become depressed and the mouth 

oblique (Fig. 8D). Rays are present in the oft dorsal and anal fins; 

the spinous dorsal and pelvic fins are undeveloped. The caudal fin 

is well formed and somewhat emarginate, and the notochord only 

slightly vi ible. Pigmentation appears as darkened margins of the 

opercle and preopercle, at the ends of the fin rays, and as broken 

black crosslines on the caudal fin. 

At 11 .0 mm TL, a few spines of the spinous dorsal are present, 

and pelvic fin first appear (Fig. 8E). Body depth is contained 

about 5.3 times in SL. 

By 15.0 mm TL. the head and body have increased in depth and 

are noticeably compressed (Fig. 9A); depth i contained about 4.2 

times in SL. The mouth is only slightly more oblique than in the 

adult. The spinous dorsal is partly developed, with about seven 

spines appearing well in advance of and entirely separated from the 

soft dorsal. A dark lateral band is developing, the lip and snout are 

dusky, small areas of dark chromatophore appear on the head and 

back. and scattered du ky spots occur along the base of the anal fin. 

The 17.0 mm TL larva has about 10 dorsal pine weU developed 

and other spine rudiments visible anteriorly (Fig. 9B); the first and 

second dorsal fins are jOined. The dark lateral band is prominent 

and the body almost completely scaled. 

At 25.0 mm TL. the body i becoming deeper and more 

compressed but is still more slender than the adult, its depth contained about 3.0 time in TL (Fig. 9C). The shape and position of 

the mouth i like that of the adult. All dorsal spines are well developed and the dorsal fin hape is approaching that of the adult. Pigmentation i general, with the lateral band prominent and a second 

one present extending from the nape to the base of the econd dorsal 

fin. The body is scaled. 

By 40.0 mm TL, the body has become more strongl y 

compressed, the back narrow and high. and the general form 

resembhng the adult (Fig. lOA); body depth is contained about 2.8 

time in TL. Color IS vanable-the dark longitudinal hnes usually 

have disappeared but may persist entirely or In part; some specimens have indications of dark crossbars. In life, there are yellow 

and green honzontal line on the ides, e pecially prominent on the 

cheeks and opercle . 

Adult body form has essentially been reached by 70.0 mm TL 

(Fig. lOB). The back is prominently elevated, the anterior ventral 

outline nearly straight, and the snout pointed. 

3.3 Adult phase 

3.31 Longevity 

Maximum size reached by pigfish is about 46 cm SL (Courtenay 

and Sahlman 1978) and 0.9 kg (2 Ib) (Hildebrand and Cable 1930; 

Konchina 1977). Lengths of30 cm SL and weights of 0.45- 0.68 kg 

(1-1.5 Ib) are not uncommon (Hildebrand and Cable 1930; Courtenay and Sahlman 1978). Few pig fish reach 3 yr of age, and very 

few reach 4 yr (Taylor 1916; Hildebrand and Cable 1930). 

3.32 Hardiness 

Although pigfish have been reported from a wide range of temperatures and salinities, they apparently have only a limited tolerance to extremes of either. According to Roessler (1970), pigfish 

had been reported from 0-38.0%0 salinity and 13.7 °-36.0°C; 

Roessler (1970) collected pigfish in Buttonwood Canal, Fla., at 

17 .2-44.1 °/00 and 19.5°-30.6°C. Springer and Woodburn (1960) 

9 

stated that pigfish seemed to have a fairly narrow tolerance range in 

Tampa Bay (19.1-35.0%0, x=28.9 % 0; 17.5° -32.5°C, 

x = 27 .6°C). In Barataria Bay, La., pigfish were collected at 

6.2-24.3%0 and 17.3°- 30.0°C (Dunham 1972) and in South 

Carolina estuaries at 27 .6-34 .2° /00 and 19.6°-24.4 °C (Shealy et 

aI. 1974). Pigfish apparently avoid low water temperatures; Moe 

and Martin (1965) did not find pigfish in water < 12 .5°C off 

Pinellas County, Fla ., and Moore (1976) reported them killed at 

Port Aransas, Tex., by a cold wave (4.5°C). 

Pigfish also seem to avoid very low salinity, though they may be 

capable of tolerating it for short periods. Wang and Raney (1971) 

never collected them at < 15 ° /00 in Charlotte Harbor Pigfish were 

the most common fish reported killed by a hurricane in September 

1950, which lowered salinity from 23.5 to 9.7° /00 during 4 d near 

Way Key, on the west coast of Florida (Reid 1954). It is more likely 

the rapid drop in salinity, rather than the low salinity itself, that 

proved fatal. 

Pigfish have been reported killed by red tides on the west coast of 

Florida (Springer and Woodburn 1960). 

3.33 Competitors 

Little is known about competitors. Hildebrand and Cable (1930) 

stated that pigfish consumed mainly foods not entering into the 

diets of many other common fishes at Beaufort, and was probably 

not an important competitor of those species. 

See 3.41 and 3.42. 

3.34 Predators 

Predators of pigfish include the Atlantic sharpnose shark, Rhizoprionodon terraenovae; spotted seatrout, Cynoscion nebulosus; 

ocellated frogfish, Antennarius ocellatus; and weakfish, Cynoscion regalis (Radcliffe 1916; Hastings 1972; Peterson and Peterson 

footnote 4). Other large piscivores, such as nappers, groupers, and 

snook. undoubtedly also prey on pigfish. 

No information regarding predators on eggs or larvae is available. 

3.35 Parasites, diseases, injuries, and abnormalities 

Pigfish off North Carolina are parasitized by Pseudotagia 

cupida , a monogenetic trematode that infests the gill filaments 

(Suydam 1971). Pigfish have been reported killed by red tides off 

the west coast of Florida (Springer and Woodburn 1960). 

3.36 Chemical composition 

Carr (1976) characterized substances in pink shrimp, Penaeus 

duorarum, extract that stimulate feeding in pigfish. Artificial mixtures of these low molecular weight amino-acid-like compounds 

and betaine stimulated feeding. Later experiments by Carr et al. 

(1977) isolated similar substances in crab, oyster, muUet, and sea 

urchin extracts, although the sea urchin compound did not elicit 

feeding. 

3.4 Nutrition and growth 

3.41 Feeding 

Pigfish are primarily benthic feeders as adults, though young fish 

feed largely on plankton higher in the water column . Like most 

haemulids, pigfish may be nocturnal feeders, leaving shelter at 
A 

B 

c 

Figure 9.-Larval and juvenile stages of Orlhopristis chrysoplera. A. Larva, 13.5 mm TL. B. Larva, 17 mm TL. C. Juvenile, 26 mm TL. (From Hildebrand 

and Cable 1930, figs. 34-36.) 
A 

B 

){fl~·j9 _ ... _'.' ... '.".' .... ~:.:.:,'.~: 

:.\1., 

':-'.H,,';. 

"::.'~~'::i.':.. 

Figure 10.-Juvenile Orthopristis chrysoptera. A. Juvenile, 38 mm TL. B. Juvenile, 70 mm TL. (From Hildebrand and Cable 1930, figs. 37, 38.) 
dusk to forage and returning to shelter before dawn (Hastings et al . 

1976), though Adams (I 976b) found that juveniles in eelgrass beds 

in North Carolina fed primarily during the day (Fig. 11). 

See 3.36 and 3.42. 

" ~ 8 

J: 

" u:i 6 ~ 

~ 

c 

0 4 III 

"" ~ 

Z 2 ... 

U 

III: 

... 

IL 0 

12 

NOON 

4 

>.._-----_ .... 

~ ", ............. -------

6 12 4 

t MIDNIGHT 

t 

8 12 

NOON 

Figure ll.-Periodicity of fe~ding of juvenile Orlhoprislis chrysoplera in spring 

(broken line) and summer (solid line) in eelgrass beds near Beaufort. 1I..C. 

Arrows indicate sunrise and sunset. (From Adams 1976b.) 

3.42 Food J 

Pigfish are general carnivores, feeding mainly on benthic invertebrates. Prey size and selection vary with growth stage. Young fish 

feed primarily on planktonic crustaceans. such as 05tracods and 

copepods, while larger juveniles and adults feed on a wide variety 

of prey, including larger crustaceans. mollusks, polychaetes, and 

small fish (Tables 3-5). 

Carr and Adams (1973), studying food habits of Juvenile pigfish at 

Crystal River. Fla., found two distinct feeding phases. An initial 

planktivorous stage in 16 to 30 mm SL juveniles was followed by a 

two-phase carnivorous diet in which benthic invertebrates were the 

preferred foods. During the planktivorous stage. copepods, 

mysids, and postlarval shrimp were the main food Items; copepods 

wefe most commonly eaten by 16 to 20 mm SL fish, with mysids 

and postlarval shrimp making a larger contribution to the diet with 

Increasing size of the fi h. At about 26 mm SL, a gradual transition 

to benthiC feeding took place, with polychaetes beginning to appear 

In the diet; thiS transition was complete by about 41-45 mm SL. 

Polychaetes were important in the diets of juveniles 41-55 mm SL, 

but were replaced by caridean and penaeld shrimps in larger fish 

(Fig. 12). 

Table 3.-Food of Orthopristis chrysoptera from the southeastern United States. (Compiled from >ariou5 

sources listed below.) 

Locality 

Chesapeake Bay 

North Carolina 

Beaufort 

Beaufort 

(eelgrass beds) 

Beaufort 

(intertidal flats) 

Size of pIg fish 

Not specl fied 

10- 11 mmSL 

12-25 mm TL 

25-35 mm TL 

40-IOOmmTL 

Adults 

15-30 mm SL 

35 mm SL 

Juveniles 

Juveniles 

Adults 

Food 

Mamly annelid worms. small 

amounts of cru~taceans. 

mollusb. Insect larYae . 

fish. plant debris 

Very ,mall cope pods 

Mainly copepods. a few 

ostracods 

Copepods. some ostracods. 

minute gastropods 

Larger crustaceans (amphipods. 

small shrimp. crabs), larger 

gastropods, bivalves, worms, 

a few small fish 

In fish < 60 mm SL' ostracods, 

Gammarus. Mysis. copepods 

Crustaceans (amphipods, shrimp, 

crabs), mollusks (especially 

bivalves like razor clams), 

worms, starfish, Balanoglossus 

Planktonic copepods 

50 % copepods, 50 % detritus 

See Table 4 

Mainly detritus, zooplankton, 

and small shrimp; other small 

crustaceans (gammaridean 

amphlpods, harpacticoid 

copepods, small crabs), small 

mollusks, annelid worms 

Mainly annelid worms (Axiothella, 

Diopatra , Rhyncobolus, Arenicola, 

Peetinaria), nemerteans 

(Cerebratulus), mollusks, crabs 

(including fiddler, horseshoe , 

hermit, blue), shrimp and other 

small crustaceans (amphipods, 

isopods), fishes, sea urchins 

Re ference 

Hildebrand 

and 

Schroeder 

1928 

Towers 1928 

Hildebrand 

and Cable 1930 

HIldebrand 

and Cable 1930 

Hildebrand 

and Cable 1930 

Towers 1928 

Hildebrand 

and Cable 1930 

Adams 1976b 

Adams 1976b 

Peterson and 

Peterson 

(text footnote 

4) 

Peterson and 

Peterson 

(text footnote 

4) 
Locality Size of pigfish 

Florida 

Tampa Bay 60mmTL 

Adults 

Cedar Key 25-170 mm TL 

East Pass Not specified 

(near Panama City) 

Crystal River 16-20 mm SL 

2 1-25 mm SL 

26-30 mm SL 

31-35 mm SL 

36-40 mOl SL 

41-45 mOl SL 

46- 50 mm SL 

51 - 55 mm SL 

56-65 mm SL 

66- 80 mm SL 

Table 4.-Food of juvenile Orlhopristis chrysoplera from 

eelgrass beds near Beaufort, N.C. (From Adams 1976b.) 

Food 

Detntus 

Copepods (calanOlds) 

Shnmp (Palaeol/lolleles) 

Crabs 

Copepods (harpacticOlds) 

Amphlpods (gammarids) 

Polychaetes 

Shrimp (Hlppolyle) 

BIvalves 

Total 

Percentage by weIght 

46.2 

35.2 

12 .5 

1.8 

1.5 

12 

0.6 

0.6 

0.4 

1000 

Table 3.-Conlinued. 

Food Reference 

Copepods. 0 tracods. small Spnnger and 

bivalves Woodburn 1960 

Bivalves. ga tropod Spnnger and 

crustaceans, polychaetes Woodburn 1960 

See Table 5 ReId 1954 

Amphipods, copepods, Isopods, Hastings 1972 

mysids, tanalds, shnmps, crabs, 

crab megalops, barnacles, 

polyc haetes. b,valves, brittlestars 

Copepods, sergestids, tadpole Carr and 

larvae. veltgers, cypris Adams 1973 

Shnmp and/or mYSlds, copepods. Carr and 

fish larvae Adams 1973 

Copepod ,shnmp and/or mysids, Carr and 

fish larvae, amphipods, polychaetes Adams 1973 

Shrimp and /o r mysids, copepods, Carr and 

polychaetes, fish larvae, amphlpods Adams 1973 

Shrimp and/o r mysids, copepods, Carr and 

polychaetes. amphipods Adams 1973 

Shrimp and/or mysids, polychaetes, Carr and 

amphipods, copepods, fish larvae, Adams 1973 

veligers, nematodes 

Polychaetes, shnmp and/o r myslds, Carr and 

amphipods, copepods, fish Adams 1973 

larvae. nematodes 

Polychaetes. shnmp, fish larvae. Carr and 

copepods, amphipods Adams 1973 

Shrimp, xanthld crabs, gastropods, Carr and 

copepods, polychaetes, fish larvae, Adams 1973 

amphipods, detritus and algae, 

and vel igers 

Shrimp, xanthld crabs, poly- Carr and 

chaetcs, copepods, fi h Adams 1973 

Table 5.-Food of three size-classes of Orlhopnstis chr)'50pura 

from Cedar Key, Fla. (From Reid 1954, table 3.) 

Percent frequcnc) 01 o<:currcn,c 

25-50 mOl SL 51 

Food Item (N;6) 

Copepod' 83.3 

Ostracod, 50.0 

Amphlpod, 538 100 

Shnmps 16.6 ~6 4 400 

Crab, ~ 1 200 

~1ollusl..s 200 

Polychaete, 16.6 7 7 600 

Fishes 5 I 

In,ects 100 
~ 

III 

~ 

Z 

... 

~ 

Z 

o 

U 

% 

U 

CC 

~ 

o 

~ 

III 80 

40 

20 

If>-20 21-25 2f>-30 31-35 3f>-40 41-45 4f>-50 51-55 5f>-f>5 f>f>-80 

POL YCHAETES 

16-20 21-25 26-30 31-35 36-40 41-.5 "6-50 51-55 56-65 66-80 

SHRIMP AND

~ 

/ OR MYSIDS SHRIMP 

If>-20 21-25 2f>-30 31-35 3f>-40 41-45 4f>-50 51-55 56-65 f>f>-80 

SIZE CLASS (MM) SL 

Figure 12.-Relative occurrence of copepods, polychaetes, shrimp, and mysids 

in the stomachs of 10 size-classes of juvenile pigfish collected at Crystal River, 

Fla. (Data from Carr and Adams 1973, fig. 8.) 

3.43 Growth rate 

Growth data on pigfish have been collected by several authors 

working in North Carolina and Florida (Tables 6, 7). Based on 

these data, growth rates of age 0 pigfish range from 10.0 mm SU 

mo (Reid 1954 data, Cedar Key, Fla.) to 19.9 mm TUmo (Hildebrand and Cable 1930 data, Beaufort, N.C.) during the spring and 

summer (April to August). Growth slows considerably at the end of 

the first summer; growth rates for age 0 pigfish over the period 

Table 6.-Comparative monthly average size (mm) of the " 0" year 

class of Orthopristis chrysoptera. (From Springer and Woodburn 1960, 

table 10.) 

Month 

Apnl May June July August 

Springer and Woodburn I 17 .5 28.7 40.0 47.5 62 . 1 

Tampa Bay Area, Fla . 

Hildebrand and Cable2 6.2 5.6 18 .6 57.4 85.9 

Beaufort, N.C. 

Reid3 

Cedar Key, Fla . 1950 36 

1951 49 52 66 

IStandard lengths. 

2Totallengths (TL 60;SL 48; TL 82 ; SL 66; TL 91 ;SL 71). 

3Standard lengths, estimated from graph. 

October to April ranged from 3.1 mm SUmo (Grimes and Mountain 1971 data, Crystal River, thermally nonaffected stations) to 5.5 

mm SUmo (Reid 1954 data, Cedar Key). This slowing in growth 

was shown graphically by Hildebrand and Cable (1930) (Fig. 13). 

Taylor (1916), working at Beaufort, measured growth increments of 47.0 mm between age I and IT , 35.0 mm between age IT 

and Ill, and 4.2 mm between age III and IV (measurements unspecified) (Fig. 14). Growth rates calculated from scale annuli were 

somewhat higher than those measured. Taylor's (1916) data , when 

compared with the data of workers discussed above, indicate a 

slowing in growth after age 0, as expected, and a fairly constant 

growth rate after reaching age 1. 

See 4.13. 

3.44 Metabolism 

An oxygen consumption rate of pig fish was calculated by Adams 

(1976c) for specimens from eelgrass beds off Beaufort. The rate of 

oxygen consumption was related to body weight and temperature 

by a multiple regression equation: 

-

Y=0.29+0.77 X. +0.02 XT (,-1=0.95, N=31), 

- where Y is the expected log of oxygen consumed per hour in milligrams, X. is log weight in grams, and XT is temperature in °C; 

expe riments were conducted over a temperature range of 

ISO-28°C. Body weight was found to be more important than temperature in describing oxygen consumption in pigfish. 

See4.6. 

Table 7.-Comparati"ve monthly mean standard lengths (mm) for age 0 Orthopristis chrysoptera; February 

and April figures probably actually represent age I individuals. (From Grimes and Mountain 1971.) 

Year 

Study collected June August October December February April 

Springer and Woodburn 1960 1957 40.0 62.1 17 .5 

(Tampa Bay) 

Reid 1954 1951 49 .0 66.0 77.0 84.0 110.0 

(Cedar Key)1 

Grimes 197)2 1969 

Crystal River-Affected3 44.0 66.0 70.0 79.0 98.0 

Crystal River-Nonaffected 51.0 75.0 111.0 

Grimes and Mountain2 1970 

Crystal River-Affected 78.9 94.0 88.2 102.9 

Crystal River-Nonaffected 50.0 68.9 87.2 90.8 105 .8 

ILengths estimated from graph. 

2Statistical comparison of annual growth (monthly mean standard length vs. time) of fish from thermally 

affected vs. nonaffected areas revealed no significant difference. 

3Stations thermally affected by power plant effluent. 

1.1 
I , 

/30 I 

I 

/ ZO 

11 0 

100 

90 

80 

70 

60 

50 

40 

3 0 

/0 

NAR APR NAY JUNE JULY AUG SEPT. ocr NOV 

I)!un' 1.' - (,ro" th ut (}rlhapn\(u chr \flplrro during tilt: Ir tlf ,. !r!.UI1Ul1t. f . (H ar 

t.:a ufor t. ( ~llid lint: ,ho", aU.'rag' 'Ill: . dot·und dJ,h Imt. hit'" 111 I" 

lUIll ' Ill, and tlhh lin' ,h,,,\~ nUOImum '"l . It rom IIl1ddlrc&nd and <. :a hl 

9.\0 .1 

3.5 lkha\ IIH 

4 

3 

2 

, 

, , 

.'I:Ur< 1-1 ( nip ro lin r 

I, n):lh IIr IIrthopn II hr 

19 110, Ii): I 

rcpond 

\\lIh /.1/ 

PI )I'l [ fI 

'\tru lU 

PI,fl h 

\ nd 

n t d 

, 

, 

, , 

, , 

, , , 

, 

, 

, 

, 

, 

, 

, 

, 

, 

, 

, 

, 

, " 

LENGTH (e 

" 

"" 

",1II' 
18 

16 

14 

II> 

Z 

~12 

v 

... 

a. 10 II> 

0 

Z 8 

6 

4 

2 

0 

8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 

LENGTH (eM) 

Figure IS.-Occurrence of Orthopristis chrysoptera of 1,2, and 3 yr old. The 8 

cm class consists of specimens 8 to 9 em in length, etc. (From Taylor 1916, fig . 

7.) 

III 

Z 

III 

~ 

V 

III 

a. 

III 

0 

Z 

1 

110 

40 

N=15 MAR 

N=627 APR 

MAY 

N=2333 JUN 

N=1647 JUL 

N=1673 AUG 

TOTAL LENGTH (eM) 

16 

14 

12 

II> 

Z 10 ... 

:E 

U 8 ... 

II. 

II> 

<5 6 

Z 

4 

2 

0 32 

LENGTH (eM) 

Figure I6.-0ccurrence of Orthopristis chrysoptera of different lengths, 1 yr 

old and upward. The 10 cm class consists of specimens 10 to 11 cm in length, 

etc. (measurement unspecified). (From Taylor 1916, fig. 5.) 

Figure 17.-Length frequencies of 9,512 Orthopristis chrysoptera 

collected near Beaufort, N.C. (From Hildebrand and Cable 1930, 

data from table 3.) 
4.2 Abundance and den\lty 

Plgfi,h are often locally abundant In \ultable habitats \\ Ithm their 

r,mge: abundance and den~ItJ var; ea~onall). 

Along the the ~()uthea~tern Atlantic l'Ila\t of the nlled tatc 

plgfl\h are common in ()pen-~helf and coa ... tal habltah (, truh ... aker 

1969) and are caught w> bycatch by ~hnmp trawler-. (Table 8). 

mlth (1907) reported that plgfi~h were among the most common 

food rl~hes m orth Carolina and were abundant ncar Beaufort. 

Plgfish densities m eelgrass areas near Beaufort ranged from 0 02 

to 2.92 mdlvlduab/m', with highest values m June (Adams 1976a) 

(Table 9) 

Plgfl ... h are abo very common along the Gulf of Mexico coa ... t, 

particularly in saltier bays and coastal water-. (Hocse and Moore 

1977) Reid (1954) reported that plgflsh were the second mo ... t 

abundant fish at Cedar Key and were espeCially common m spring 

and ... ummer (Fig. 18) At Cry tal River, plgflsh were mo t abundant m late ... ummer and fall (Gnmes 1971) (Fig 19) Wang and 

Raney (1971) found that plgflsh were more abundant In harlotte 

Harbor than reported by Spnnger and Woodburn (1960) in Tampa 

Bay and were most abundant from May to July and least abundant 

in Novemhcr and December 

In the northern Gulf of MexIco, plgfish have been reported to be 

among the most abundant fishes at Ihgator Harbor, Fla , (Joseph 

and Yerger 1956) on offshore platforms near Panama City, Fla , 

(Ha ... tmgs et al 1976) and In St. Andrew Bay (Ogren and Brusher 

1977: Pmtas and Trent 1978) Plgfih are also commonl) trawled 

on live bottom off northwestern Florida. Hastings (1972) found 

them to be common or abundant near St Andrew Bay Jetties from 

April to November but absent from shallow water when water temperatures were low (12° 14°C). On the Texas coru,t, plgfi\h 

occurred in 40-43 % of trawl catche -on white shrimp ground ,with 

catches of 14 2 37 6 fish/h trawling (366 741 g,h I for two ... ampiing penods (Cody et al. footnote 5) Plgfish bIOmass in Laguna 

Madre, Tex , was estimated by Helher (1962) and ranged from 00 

"g/ha m January through April to 2 2 "g, ha C: 0 Ib/acre) In epIh 

Jan 19 

F h 

tar 

\ p( 

t 

Jun 

J~ , 

U 

<; pI 

('"dl 

ij'lguc Sound pI I 71 

0\ 

D 

Jdn 19 

F~b 

1M 

rr 

Ma 

June 

Jul 

epl 

(,)1.11 

,I JJla 

tcmocr(Flg 20) Plg11 hilI'C I 

pecht'. \1e lu)(Hlldebrand 19 4) 

• ec 2 2 I. 2 2,. ilnd 1 51 

Table 8.-Catche. of Orthopri,ti' chrysoptua a, a b~catch of 'hnmp tra"ltng .. IT th. soulh, 'i1< rn \\1 nIl 

State" 193 I -35. (t rom \nder,,,n 1'111 ) 

\I onth 

L04.:J1UlO Jan ht> ~Iar Apr 

'oulh C3n)11n3 , Ol' r"h 

OUhlde h IrJ" ling 0 

IOl.lllJIlh n~ 

wlal no ~2 

GeMgIJ. no fo h 

Out-Ide h Im\\ long In 01 O~ 

% "'1.lI,alch 01 01 

total n,l 20 

II..'\lrglJ nl\ h~h 

In'lde h Ir.l\\long 

((ltal,-Jh . .-h O~ 

t('Ital n() I , 

FI,'nda n,' II h 

OUlld. hlrJ"hn " ~ 4 O~ bO 0 .; 

lola I ,."h 0 01 I 

t lat no ~O :! b 

fI I fir Ih l nil d 
I~l _____ ~~ JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC JAN FEB MAR APR MAY 

MONTH 

Figure IS.-Seasonal abundance of Orthopristis chrysoptera collected at Cedar 

Key, Fla. (From Reid 1954.) 

III 

z 

u 

III 

III 

Go 

=e ::~ ~ 

,~ III 

::~ B 

c:5 

z 

, .,----:::, JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC 

Figure 19.-Seasonal abundance of Orthopristis chrysoptera collected at shallow trawl stations near Crystal River, Fla. A. Thermally affected stations. B. 

Thermally nonaffected stations. (From Grimes 1971.) 

2.0 

2.0 

1.6 

1.6 

",0;; 

'" II< 

1.2 

.. v 1.2 

:l! ~ 0 ~ 0 .8 0 .8 iii 

0 . 4 0 . 4 

O~~~---r--+-~---r--~-.---r--~-+~~~O JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC 

MONTH 

'" '" Cl -

0 _ ;0: 

x> 

> '" '" 

Figure 20.-Estimated seasonal biomass of Orthopristis chrysoptera in Laguna 

Madre, Tex. (From Hellier 1962 data.) 

4.3 Natality and recruitment 

4.32 Factors affecting reproduction 

Spawning is seasonal, occurring primarily in spring, and is probably temperature related. Spawning seems to occur in open water 

just prior to inshore migration (Hastings 1972) or in quiet inshore 

waters (Hildebrand and Cable 1930). Since spawning areas are not 

well known, there is no information of environmental effects on 

reproduction. 

See 3.16. 

4.33 Recruitment 

Length-frequency data indicate that youngest fish (approximately 10 mm SL) appear in shallow inshore waters from January 

to June, with the largest influx in April and May (Hildebrand and 

Cable 1930; Reid 1954; Springer and Woodburn 1960; Wang and 

Raney 1971). Smaller juveniles (3 + mm, measurement unspecified) may also be present in shallow water, but are not usually sampled because of their habit of burying in or lying on sand bottom 

(Hildebrand and Cable 1930). 

See 2.21. 

4.6 Population in the community and the ecosystem 

Pigfish are important members of inshore grassbed communities 

during the warmer months of the year. Adams (1976b) calculated 

that pigfish contributed 8.0 and 9.3 % of the total energy produced 

in eelgrass beds at Phillips Island and Bogue Sound, N. C., respectively. Pigfish made up 21 and 7 %, respectively, of the total number 

of fish collected at each site. Standing crop of pigfish was high during spring, summer, and fall, and zero in winter when pigfish were 

absent from shallow water (Fig. 21). Caloric contents of pigfish 

studied by Adams (1976b) were: 

Life stage 

Adults 

Juveniles 

Prejuveniles 

Larvae 

10.0 

S.O 

'" :e 

...... 

... 

~ 1.0 

V 

~ o.so 

>- C) 

a: 

... 

Z 

... 0.10 

o.os 

SL Caloric content 

(mm) (cal/mg ash-free dry weight) 

>86 5.85 

38-82 5.52 

16-38 5.48 

12-16 5.33 

9 

'I II 

, I , I , I , I , I 

I I I I , I 

.......... -rJ' \ I -----0., I ' , 

I J \, 

\ ! ~ I 

I 'I 

'I 

I 

I 'I 

'I 

I 

I 

'I 

" 

~ ! \ ~ 0 \ ~ / \ I , I I , I 

\ / \ 

I / \ I , I I , I I , I I , I 

O.Ol~-r--+--.--~\~-r--r-~--~'~-r--~-r--~-i\-- SON D J FMAMJJAS 

1971 1972 

MONTH 

Figure 21.-Temporal distribution of the standing crop energy of Orthopristis 

chrysoptera in Bogue Sound (broken line) and Phillips Island (solid line) eelgrass beds, N.C. (From Adams 1976a.) 

Pigfish production, respiration, and consumption were also calculated for the same two eelgrass beds (Adams 1976c) and conversion efficiencies estimated (Tables 10,11). Juveniles showed more 

efficient conversion of consumed energy to productivity (PIC ratio) 

(34%) than did adults (6-20%), whereas juveniles used less consumed energy for respiration (RIC ratio) (46 %) than did adults 

(60-75 %). Energy flow diagrams for the eelgrass fish communities 

studied by Adams (l976c) appear in Figure 22. Pigfish are thus significant consumers and producers of energy in such communities. 

Offshore migrations of pigfish in late fall and winter may subject 

them to predation by offshore fish species, though little is known 

concerning predation. Assuming that such predation does occur, 

considerable amounts of energy may be transported from inshore to 

offshore communities by pigfish. The fact that pigfish returning to 

shallow water in spring were in poor condition (Hildebrand' and 

Cable 1930) indicates that there is little feeding done while offshore; hence there is little energy transfer in the inshore direction. 
Table IO.-Production and respiration of juvenile and adult Orthopristis chrysoptera in Bogue Sound and Pbillips Island, N.C., eelgrass beds. (From Adams 1976c, 

table 11.) 

Juveniles Adults Juveniles Adults 

Production R,espiration Production Respiration Production Respiration Production Respiration 

Month (callm2) (cal/m2) (cal 1m2) (callm2) Month (cal 1m2) (callm2) (cal 1m 2) (cal/m2) 

Phillips Island Bogue Sound 

Sept. 1971 _I 2,815 Sept. 1971 383 408 

October October 252 274 

November 405 November 1,046 

December December 

Jan . 1972 Jan . 1972 

February February 

March March 

April April 

May 284 743 May 329 85 

June 1,035 1,424 June 518 1,000 54 65 

July 1,652 1.427 333 204 July 459 425 265 

August 558 748 1,040 August 267 

September 232 September 

Total 3,529 4,674 333 4,464 Total 1,306 1,777 689 2,053 

% of total % of total 

community value 16.3 6.7 3.2 6.4 community value 6.0 3. 1 3.2 3.6 

INo data. 

Table H.-Summary of the energy budget of juvenile and adult Orthopristis chrysoptera from eelgrass 

beds at Phillips Island and Bogue Sound, N.C. (From Adams 1976c, table Y.) 

Consumption (C)I 

Productivity (P) Respiration (R) (Winberg) (Bajkov) 

(cal/m2per yr) (cal/m2per yr) (cal/m2per yr) PIC RIC 

Juveniles 

Phill ips Island 3,529 4,674 10,255 10,566 0.34 0.46 

Bogue Sound 1,306 1.777 3,853 4,366 0.34 0.46 

Adults 

Phillips Island 333 4,464 5,986 4,385 0.06 0.75 

Bogue Sound 689 2,058 3,434 6,907 0.20 0.60 

ICalculated using two methods, one of Winberg, one of Bajkov. 

5 EXPLOITATION 

5.1 Fishing equipment 

Pigfish are caught by a variety of methods, mainly seines, traps, 

trawls, and handlines (Courtenay and Sahlman 1978). Most are 

marketed fresh. Hildebrand and Schroeder (1928) reported that in 

1920, 50% of pigfish caught in Chesapeake Bay were caught by 

handlines, 28 % by pound nets, 21 % by haul seines, and 3 % by gill 

nets. Many pigfish are caught on hook and line by recreational fishermen, mainly by still fishing (Clark 1962), and others are caught as 

bycatch by shrimp trawlers. Pigfish for use as live bait are caught 

with small beam trawls, push nets, traps, and on hook and line 

(Anderson and Gehringer 1965). 

5.2 Fishing areas 

Pigfish are caught throughout their range, though they are not 

usually a targeted catch. Largest reported catches are from the 

Chesapeake Bay area, N.C., and both coasts of Florida (Hildebrand and Cable 1930). Hildebrand and Schroeder (1928) reported 

that pigfish were much esteemed as food fish in Chesapeake Bay, 

bringing a retail price of$O.44/kg ($0.20/lb) in 1921 -22. Recreational catches of pigfish are considerable on the Middle Atlantic, 

South Atlantic, and Gulf of Mexico Coasts of the United States, 

See 5.43. 

5.3 Fishing seasons 

Pigfish are caught primarily in the warmer months of the year 

when they are in shallow water. In Chesapeake Bay, the fishing season extends from April until October, with the most productive 

months being May, June, September, and October (Hildebrand and 

Schroeder 1928). Trawl catch rates reported from the Cape 

Canaveral, Fla., area were highest in September and October 

(Anderson and Gehringer 1965). Recreational catches were greatest in September and May (Anderson and Gehringer 1965). 

See 2.3 and 5.43 . 

5.4 Fishing operations and results 

5.41 Effort and intensity 

See 5.43 . 

5.43 Catches 

Reported commercial catches of pig fish for 1966-75 appear in 

Table 12. During that period the largest catch was 135,300 kg 

(298,000 lb) in 1971. North Carolina produced the largest catches. 

Chesapeake Bay catches were down considerably from the 1920 

level, when pigfish ranked 18th among commercial catches there, 

with 14,403 kg (31,725 lb), valued at $2,348, landed (Hildebrand 

and Schroeder 1928). 
114.4 

A 

99.8 

B 

, / 

\ \" 

\ \/1 

f69.7 

, I 

~/ 519 

.' .' .:.: 

I . 

I.·O·~ /. 

". 

~:g: .. ::.::.::~ 

...... ····21.6 

.. ' 

Figure 22.-Diagrams of the annual energy flows (kcal/m2) of the fish communities in A. Phillips 

Island, B. Bogue Sound, N.C., eelgrass beds. Large hexagons represent the total fish communities and small hexagons represent fish populations; numbers inside hexagons are average annual 

stand;ng crop (kcal/m2). Solid flow lines are consumption, dashed lines oxygen consumption, and 

dotted lines production. (From Adams 1976c.) 
Table l2.-Reported catches of Orthopristis chrysoptera a long the United States coast, 1966-75. Figures are in 

thousands of pounds landed and thousands of dollars value. (Data from Fisheries of the United States, U.S. Department of Commerce, NOAA, NMFS Statistical Digests 60-69.) 

Year 

Geographic area I 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 197 1 1972 1973 1974 1975 10·Yr IOtal 

Chesapeake Bay Ib 8 4 3 7 22 10 I 2 57 

$ (1)2 (I) (I) 2 (I) (I) (I) 

North Carolina Ib 86 133 123 181 181 256 172 127 136 144 1,539 

$ 5 9 10 15 14 20 14 10 13 13 

Florida east coast Ib 26 20 15 21 14 18 10 \I 15 5 155 

$ 2 (I) 

Florida west coast Ib 20 30 69 38 34 14 21 15 13 4 258 

$ I 2 4 3 3 I 3 2 I 

Total Ib 140 187 2\0 247 251 298 204 155 164 153 2.009 

INo O. chrysoptera catches were reported from South Carolina, Georgia , Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, or Texas. 

2Parentheses refer 10 dollar amounts < 1,000. 

Table l3.-Catch per unit of effort of Orthopristis chrysop/era caught as bycatch of shrimp trawlers in the Cape 

Canaveral, Fla., area, 1933-35. Gear used was a 75-ft shrimp trawl towed at 2-3 kn. (Data from Anderson and 

Gehringer 1965.) 

Jan Feb. Mar. Apr. May 

No fish 'h trawling 3.3 03 9.0 0.9 6.5 

% Total catch 0.1 -I 0.6 04 20 

Total fish 20 2 36 6 13 

I Less than 0.1 % of IOta I catch 

Table 14.-Recreational catch of Orthorpristis chrysoptera along the Atlantic 

coast of the nited States in 1960. (Data from Clark 1962.) 

No. caught (thou..ands) 

No. anglers (thou!>ands) 

A, g. catch (fish/angler) 

ESlImated weight (1,000 Ib) 

(1,000 kg) 

Weight conversion (Ib/fish) 

(kg/fish) 

RegIOn 

Middle Atlanllc 

282 

18 

157 

340 

154 

1 2 

0.5 

South AtlantiC 

426 

3 

142.0 

720 

327 

1.7 

0.8 

Pigfish are frequently caught as bycatch by shnmp trawlers; 

Wolff (1972) reported pigfish ranked third (8.4% of total) among 

fish caught by shrimp trawlers in North Carolina. Pigfish landings 

by shrimpers in North Carolina averaged 4,257 fish dunng 

1973-75 (KeIser 1977). Catch and effort and percent of total catch 

figures for commerical pigfish bycatch in the Cape Canaveral area 

were provided by Anderson and Gehringer (1965) (Table 13); catch 

rates were highest in September and October. 

Recreational catches of pig fish on the Middle Atlantic and South 

Atlantic Coasts of the United States in 1960 were reported by Clark 

(1962) (Table 14). Total recreational pigfish catch was higher in the 

South Atlantic region than in the Middle Atlantic region, as was the 

average catch per angler and the average fish weight. Monthly recreational catches for the Cape Canaveral area appear in Table 15 

(Anderson and Gehringer 1965). Largest numbers of pigfish were 

caught from bridges and causeways. Months with greatest reported 

landings were September and May. 

Month 

June July Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. Total 

0.5 1.0 8.0 22.8 37.0 4.0 1.5 7.6 

0.1 0.1 0.4 0.8 0.8 0.1 0.4 

6 44 148 148 16 8 448 

According to the Marine Recreational Fishery Statistics Survey, 

Atlantic and Gulf Coasts, 1979 (U.S. Department of Commerce 

Current Fishery Statistics No. 8063), recreational anglers caught 

15 ,000 pigfi h m the Mid-Atlantic subarea, 456,000 in the South 

Atlantic ubarea, and 1,521 ,000 in the Gulf subarea in 1979. Of 

the e, 597,000 were caught in the ocean> 3 mi offshore, 50 1,000 

were caught in the ocean < 3 mi offshore, 541,000 were caught in 

enclosed water, and 352,000 were from unknown localities. Most 

(1,226,000) were caught from private or rental boats, 585,000 were 

caught from manmade structures, and 181,000 from beaches or 

banks. 

Pigfish flesh is considered good quality and is firm and rather 

dark, WIth good flavor (Hildebrand and Cable 1930). Mechanically 

separated pigfish flesh makes high quality fish patties (Webb and 

Thomas 1975). 

Juvenile pigfish are popular live bait for sea trout in the Cape 

Canaveral area (Anderson and Gehringer 1965). Pigfish used as 

bait range from 6.25 to 10.0 cm TL (2.5-4.0 m) and average lO/lb. 

In 1963,224,840 pigfish, weighing about 10,220 kg (22.484 lb) 

were caught in the Cape Canaveral area and brought a price of 

about $28,105 (Anderson and Gehringer 1965). Individual live pigfish were sold at 10 to 15 cents each or about $1.25/lb. Carr (1976) 

mentioned than at least one bait dealer in Oak Hill, Fla., was trapping pigfish to use as live bait at that time. 

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 

I thank Donald M. Allen, Joan A. Browder, and Albert C. Jones 

of the Office of Fishery Management, Southeast Fisheries Center, 

National Marine Fisheries Service, and George C. Miller of the 

Southeast Fisheries Center Miami Laboratory for critically revIewing the manuscript, and Julie Josiek, Miami Laboratory, for her 

help in obtaining literature. 
Table IS.-Estimated sport catch of Orthopristis chrysoplera in the Cape Canaveral, Fla., area in 1963. (Data 

from Anderson and Gehringer 1965.) 

March April May 

South Section, no. _I 1,324 7,563 

bridges and causeways Ibs 33 1 1,89 1 

kg 150 859 

South Section , no. 

ocean piers 1bs 

kg 

South Section, Port no. 

Canaveral, inside 1bs 

kg 

South Section, Port no. 15 

Canaveral , outside 1bs 4 

kg 2 

South Section, boat no. 

fishery Ibs 

kg 

North Section, bank no. 

fishery Ibs 

kg 

North Section, no. 272 1,248 1,720 

bridges Ibs 64 312 432 

kg 29 142 196 

North Section , no. 

surf Ibs 

kg 

North Section , no. 790 

boat fishery Ibs 198 

kg 90 

Total no. 272 2,572 10,088 

Ibs 64 643 2,525 

kg 29 292 1, 147 

INo data. 

LITERATURE CITED 

ADAMS, S. M. 

1976a. The ecology of eelgrass, Zostera marina (L.), fish communities. I. 

Structural analysis. 1. Exp. Mar. BioI. Ecol. 22:269-29 1. 

1976b. Feeding ecology of eelgrass fish communities. Trans. Am. Fish. 

Soc 105:514-5 19. 

1976c. The ecology of eelgrass, Zostera marina (L.), fish communities. II. 

Functional analysis. J. Exp. Mar. BioI. Eco!. 22:293- 311 . 

ANDERSON, W W 

1968. Fishes taken during shrimp trawling along the South Atlantic coast of 

the United States, 193 1-35. U.S. Fish Wildl. Serv., Spec. Sci. Rep. Fish. 

570.60 p. 

ANDERSON. W W, and J. W GEHRINGER. 

1965. Biological-statistical census of the spec ies entering fisheries in the 

Cape Canaveral area. U.S. Fish Wildl. Serv., Spec . Sci. Rep. Fish. 514, 79 

p. 

BEEBE, W .. and J. TEE-VAN. 

1933 Field book of the shore fishes of Bermuda. G. P Putnam's Sons, N. Y. , 

337 p. 

BRIGGS,J. C. 

1958. A list of Florida fis hes and their distribution. Bull. Fla. State Mus. , 

Bioi SCI. 2:223-3 18 

CARR, WE. S. 

1976 ChemoreceptIOn and feeding behavior in the pigfish, Orthopristis chrysopterus: characterization and identification of stimulatory substances in a 

shrimp extract. Compo Biochem. Physiol. 55A: 153- 157 . 

CARR, W. E. S., and C A ADAMS. 

1973 Food habits of juvenile marine fishes occupying sea grass beds in the 

estuarine zone near Crystal River. Florida. Trans. Am . Fish. Soc . 

10251 1-540 

CARR. v.. E S. K. M BLUMENTHAL, and J. C. NETHERTON III. 

1977 Chemoreception In the plgfish, Orthop flstis chrysopterus: the contribution of aminO aCids and beta ine to stimulation of feeding behavior by various cxtnlCts. Compo BlOchem Physiol. 58A:69-73. 

Month 

June 

263 

66 

30 

11 2 

28 

13 

232 

56 

25 

607 

150 

68 

July 

119 

30 

14 

809 

202 

92 

1,326 

336 

153 

1,352 

336 

153 

403 

10 1 

46 

4,009 

1,005 

458 

Aug. 

1,379 

345 

157 

50 

12 

5 

42 

10 

5 

1,407 

348 

158 

2,664 

664 

30 1 

293 

73 

33 

5,835 

1,452 

659 

Sept. 

4,392 

1,098 

498 

31 3 

78 

35 

258 

69 

3 1 

5,408 

1,352 

6 14 

102 

26 

12 

36 1 

90 

4 1 

10,834 

2 ,713 

1,23 1 

Oct. 

1,148 

287 

130 

3,776 

944 

429 

154 

38 

17 

3,275 

8 19 

372 

8,353 

2 ,088 

948 

Total 

16, 188 

4 ,048 

1,838 

50 

12 

5 

1, 164 

290 

132 

15 

4 

2 

112 

28 

13 

2,991 

753 

342 

16,672 

4 , 160 

1,389 

256 

64 

29 

5, 122 

1,28 1 

S82 

42,570 

10,640 

4 ,832 

CHITTENDEN , M. E., Jr., and 1. D. McEACHRAN . 

1976. Composition, ecology, and dynamics of demersal fish communities 0 

the northwestern Gulf of Mexico continental shelf, with a similar synopsis 

fo r the entire Gul f. Tex. A&M Univ. Sea Grant Coli. TAMU-SG-76-208 , 

104 p. 

CHITTENDEN , M. E., Jr., and D. MOORE. 

1977. Composition of the ichthyofauna inhabiting the 11 O-meter bathymetric 

contour of the Gulf of Mexico, Mississippi Ri ver to the Rio Grande. Northeast Gulf Sci. 1: 106- 11 4 . 

CLARK, J. R. 

1962 . The 1960 salt-water angling survey. U.S. Fish Wildl. Serv., Circ. 

153, 36 p. 

COURTENAY, W R., Jr., and H. F. SAHLMAN. 

1978. Pomadasyidae . In W Fischer (editor), FAO species identification 

sheets for fishery purposes, Western Central Atl antic (Fishing Area 31 ), Vol 

IV, unpaginated . FAO, Rome. 

DAHLBERG, M. D. 

1972 . An ecological study of Geo rgia coastal fis hes. Fish. Bull. , U.S. 

70:323- 353. 

DUNHAM , F. 

1972 . A study of commercial ly important estuarine-dependent industrial 

fis hes. La. Wildl. Fish. Comm., Tech. Bull. 4, 63 p. 

FRANKS, J. S. 

1970. An investigation of the fish population within the inland waters of Horn 

Island , Mississippi, a barrier island in the northern Gul f of Mexico. Gulf Res. 

Rep. 3:3- 104. 

GOODE, G. B. 

1884 . The fis heries and fis hery industries of the United States. Sect. I, 895 

p. U.S. Comm. Fish Fish., U.S. Gov. Print. Off., Wash. , D.C. 

GRJMES, C. B. 

1971. Thermal addition studies of the Crystal Ri ver steam electric sta 

tion . Fla. Dep. Nat. Resour. Mar. Res. Lab. Prof. Pap. Ser. I 1, 53 p. 

GRJMES, C. B., and 1. A. MOUNTAIN. 

197 1. Effects of thermal effl uent upon marine fishes near the Cry stal Rive 

steam electric station. Fla. Dep. Nat. Resour. Mar. Res. Lab. Prof. Pap 

Ser. 17, 64 p.