found along the Atlantic coast from
Massachusetts to southern Florida,
straying occasionally to Nova Scotia, Canada and into the eastern Gulf
of Mexico. They are most abundant from New York to North Carolina.
Weakfish are
Atlantic coast. Warming of coastal waters in the spring keys migration inshore and northward from
the wintering grounds to bays, estuaries, and sounds. Larger fish move inshore first and tend to
congregate in the northern part of the range. In northern areas, a greater proportion of adults spend
the summer in the ocean than in estuaries. Weakfish form aggregations and move offshore as
temperatures decline in the fall. They generally move offshore and southward. Important wintering
grounds for the stock are located on the continental shelf from Chesapeake Bay to Cape Lookout,
North Carolina. Some weakfish may remain in inshore waters from North Carolina southward.
Adults migrate north and south, and onshore/offshore seasonally along the
spawning areas are from North Carolina to Montauk, New York, although extensive spawning and
presence of juveniles has been observed in the bays and inlets of Georgia and South Carolina.
Spawning occurs after a spring inshore migration. Timing of spawning is variable, beginning as early
as March in North Carolina, and as late as May to the north. Mature female weakfish produce large
quantities of eggs that are fertilized by mature males as they are released into waters of nearshore and
estuarine spawning areas. Females are indeterminant batch spawners, meaning females release their
eggs over a period of time rather than all at once.
Weakfish spawn in estuarine and nearshore habitats throughout its range. Principal
until they reach sexual maturity (90% by age 1, 100% by age 2). These areas include nearshore
waters as well as bays, estuaries, and sounds to which they are transported by currents or in
which they hatch. Juvenile weakfish inhabit the deeper waters of bays, estuaries, and sounds,
including their tributary rivers. They also use the nearshore Atlantic Ocean as a nursery area.
Juveniles are associated with sand or sand/seagrass bottom. Adult weakfish reside in both estuarine
and nearshore Atlantic Ocean habitats. In the Chesapeake Bay, weakfish are important top carnivores,
feeding along the edges of eelgrass habitats as well as other edge habitats such as along channel
edges, rock, and oyster reefs.
Nursery habitats are those areas in which larval weakfish reside or migrate after hatching
• Dredging and filling activities that have limited shallow water nursery habitat
• Water quality degradation resulting from point and non-point source discharges contributing, in
some estuarine areas, to oxygen depletion and the creation of large masses of anoxic waters during
summer months
• Intensive conversion of coastal wetlands to agricultural areas has contributed to functional loss of
weakfish nursery area habitat
| Weakfish, Cynoscion regalis, have supported fisheries along the Atlantic coast since at least the 1800s. However, in recent years, commercial and recreational fishermen alike have had increasing difficulty landing weakfish. In 2008, total weakfish harvest reached an all time low of 1.1 million pounds. For comparison, total weakfish harvest was greater than 31 million pounds in 1986. Upon receiving this stock information in 2009, the Weakfish Management Board approved new measures for implementation in 2010. Addendum IV to Amendment 4 requires states to implement a one fish recreational creel limit, 100 pound commercial trip limit, 100 pound commercial bycatch limit during closed seasons, and 100 undersized fish per trip allowance for the finfish trawl fishery. All other management measures previously adopted to conserve the stock and reduce bycatch remain in effect. |
