Fine-scale behavior of red snapper (Lutjanus campechanus) around bait: approach distances, bait plume dynamics, and effective fishing area
- 1 March 2022
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Canadian Science Publishing in Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
- Vol. 79 (3), 458-471
- https://doi.org/10.1139/cjfas-2021-0044
Abstract
The behavior of fish around bait is poorly understood despite it being important for the fish catching process and estimating relative abundance. We used a fine-scale acoustic positioning system to quantify the movements of 26 red snapper (Lutjanus campechanus) around 120 bait deployments in 2019 at a natural reef site (∼37-m deep) in North Carolina, USA. There were 39 instances of tagged red snapper approaching bait during four baiting days, some of which approached due to apparent sensory cues (28%), while most approached incidentally (72%). Tagged red snapper approached bait from initial distances of 1 to 1147 m (median = 27 m; mean = 86 m), and took 0–77 min (mean = 22 min) to approach. Fish were more likely to approach bait if they were located close to, and down-current of, the bait at deployment. Our estimated effective fishing area of 2290 m2 (within which >50% of red snapper responded to bait) could be used along with video counts and other information to estimate densities of red snapper.Keywords
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