Bioecology aspects of Menticirrhus americanus (Teleostei,Sciaenidae) in Santos Bay, São Paulo, Brazil

Abstract

Monthly diurnal shrimp bottom trawIs and beach seine hauIs were done in the region of Santos bay (24^o S) from March, 1985 to May, 1986, catching 487 individuals of the sciaenid Menticirrhus americanus. The analysis of the occurrence, abundance, length frequency, influence of environmental factors, length-weight relationship, growth, recruitment and mortality of the species was the objective of this study. M. americanus occurred year-round in both samples; youngest specimens were first caught in the spring in the beach surf zone and, in summer, the species was more abundant in shallower waters of the bay. The pattern of annual recruitment was in the form of two irregular peaks; the values of total mortality and exploitation rates were low, not suggesting that the species had been overexploited by the shrimp fishery in the region.