C O B I A Rachycentron canadum Head, Carolina. South and theGulfofMexico stock withamixingzone somewhere between Cape Canaveral, Florida andHilton Mexico. analysis Genetic hasshown that cobia intheU.S. includetwo breeding groups, theAtlantic stock Cobia spawn inthesummeralongsoutheastern United States fallintheGulfof andintheearly Spawning providing more data onthishighlyprized species. cobiaReleasing withaninternal acoustic tag, capture detailsgreatly andreporting benefit researchers in tagsthatcobia identify taggedwithtwo external thefishhasaninternal acoustic taggedindividual. called transducers placed inthewater alongthecoastline. Anglers are askedto beonthelookoutfor Florida.South As Cobia maketheirannualmigrations, thetagsare onsoniclistening detected devices managers. 160acoustic Over tagshave beensurgically implanted incobia from Carolina South down to lineatevaluate theFlorida/Georgia ofthecurrent theaccuracy stock boundary border usedby fisheries the Atlantic andGulfofMexico stocks are currently beinginvestigated by scientists from many states to mantawhales, rays, turtles, andotherlarge fish. habitatsThe migratory andofmixingbetween extent theirmigration,During cobia are spotted often inassociation withlarge animalsincludingsharks, marine states to states southern haunts. inthelate fall, summerto returning andearly northern inthespring Cobia prefer warm temperate waters, andmigrate Atlantic southfrom theGulfof Mexico andnorthern Movement/Migration throughout theGulfofMexico andCaribbean. toMassachusetts Florida alongtheeastern seaboard oftheU.S. andinto andtheBahamas Bermuda ofthe Oceans.Indo-Pacific AtlanticOceanIn the thesepelagic western swimmers portion roam from Cobia are found inoffshore, nearshore, andinshore subtropical to tropical waters ofthe Atlantic and crab-eater, blackbonito orbrown clown. A fishwithmanyknown names: cobia are asling, lemonfish,blacksalmon, also kingfish, flathead, black Geographic Range Needs and Habitat Life History buoys, pilings, channelmarkers, andfloating debris. 100 lbs(45kg).Cobia orient to structure,reefs, usingbothnatural andartificial and canalsobe found near invertebrates. Cobia are to live known upto 10years, grow (1.8m),andweigh to upto sixft andbeyond water column. They predominantly feed oncrustaceans butalsoeat benthic andpelagic fishesand 32°C. Cobia donothave a swimbladderwhichenablesthemto search for prey throughout theentire and tolerates awiderange ofsalinitiesfrom fresh nearly to fullseawater andtemperatures from 17– This fishisapelagic, speciesthat highlymigratory canbe found down to 1200minthedeep ocean, Habitat Use Threats to Habitat
• Dredging and coastal development leading to sedimentation and burial of hardbottom reef communities • Contamination of estuarine and oceanic waters (oil pollution, mercury, etc.) • Reduced water quality leading to seagrass loss • Fishery gear impacts to hardbottom communities (trawling, dredging, etc.) • Effects of climate change on regional water temperatures and supporting habitat communities
Habitat Research Needs
• Identifying juvenile and sub-adult habitat requirements as they pertain to population bottlenecks CommissionFisheries www.asmfc.org Marine States Atlantic • Effects of contaminants in the water column on reproduction success • Modeling impacts to reef communities associated with climate change
Additional Information Red drum are managed under Amendment 2 to the lnterstate Fishery Management Plan for Red Drum (June 2002) and Addendum I (2013). Addendum I addresses habitat needs and concerns for the species. These documents can be found on the ASMFC website at www.asmfc.org or by contacting the ASMFC Habitat Program Coordinator at 703.842.0740.
December 2015