Intrinsic rate of increase is unknown, and age at 50% maturity is currently undergoing reconsideration. King Mackerel reach sexual maturity by age 3 to 4 years. Their maximum-recorded age is 26 years (SEDAR 2004; GMFMC and SAFMC 2004).

King Mackerel is a migratory species found in coastal waters from the Gulf of Maine to Brazil and throughout the Gulf of Mexico (GMFMC and SAFMC 2004). Current management recognizes two distinct populations: an Atlantic group and a Gulf of Mexico group, although there is speculation that the Gulf of Mexico group really comprises 2 separate populations (Lyczkowski-Schultz 2000).

King Mackerel spawn repeatedly from April through September at several sites in the western Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico (Collins and Stender 1987; Collins and Wenner 1987; Lyczkowski-Schultz 2000). Off Florida, King Mackerel are thought to spawn throughout the Gulf Stream. King Mackerel larvae are commonly found off North Carolina and within the Gulf of Mexico, suggesting that spawning occurs there (Branstetter, pers. comm., 2006).

King Mackerel is a highly fecund, repetitive spawner (Branstetter, pers. comm., 2006)

King Mackerel were at a high level of abundance in the early 1980s, and then declined precipitously due to overfishing. Both populations have rebounded, but their populations have yet to reach their early-1980s levels of abundance (SEDAR 2004).

Recent estimates of Atlantic King Mackerel exceed the level set by fishery managers as a target population size. This target size, known as BMSY, is the biomass needed to produce maximum sustainable yield in the fishery. Estimates of abundance of Atlantic King Mackerel during the 2002-2003 fishing year were 122% of BMSY. The abundance of the Gulf of Mexico group was estimated to be 93% of the BMSY (GMFMC and SAFMC 2004). Although not yet fully recovered from being depleted, fishery managers no longer consider Gulf of Mexico King Mackerel to be overfished (NOAA 2005).

King Mackerel exhibit a dimorphic growth pattern: females typically grow faster and larger than males. Insufficient data exist, however, for catch-at-size information by gender, which would enable managers to determine whether fishers catch more females than males, potentially resulting in a skewed sex ratio (SEDAR 2004). Due to this current lack of information, we chose not to subtract points at this time.

Fishery managers no longer consider the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico populations of King Mackerel to be overfished (GMFMC and SAFMC 2004; NOAA 2005).

TThe abundance of King Mackerel populations has been increasing since the mid-1990s (SEDAR 2004)

The majority of commercial fishing for King Mackerel occurs in Florida. A statewide gillnet ban in effect since 1995 restricts fishers to using hook-and-line gear to fish for King Mackerel. Hook-and-line gear for King Mackerel includes handlines, rod-and-reel, and troll gear, and, in 2004, was responsible for about 88% of the total commercial catch of King Mackerel (NMFS 2006a).

Two Florida counties, Monroe and Collier (which encompass the Florida Keys and the coastal area surrounding Naples), allow a runaround-gillnet fishery to operate, in which fishers set nets directly around schools of King Mackerel identified by aerial survey (GMFMC and SAFMC 2004). These hook-and-line and runaround-gillnet gears do little damage to the surrounding environment.

Habitat effects of the surface gears used to catch King Mackerel are minimal.

Habitat effects of the surface gears used to catch King Mackerel are minimal.

The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (SAFMC) and the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council (GMFMC) jointly manage the Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico migratory populations of King Mackerel with the Fishery Management Plan for the Coastal Migratory Pelagic Resources in the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico (1983 and subsequent amendments). During the mid-1980's, the abundance of King Mackerel steeply declined, and fishery managers declared both populations to be overfished. Subsequent measures, including fishery closures when catch quotas are met and a permit moratorium that restricted access to the fishery, have since enabled the populations to recover (GMFMC and SAFMC 2004; SEDAR 2004;).

Recreational catches of King Mackerel are greater than commercial catches. In recent years, managers have allocated recreational fishers 63% and 68% of the total annual catch limits for King Mackerel in the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico sectors, respectively. (GMFMC and SAFMC 2004; Branstetter, pers. comm., 2006). Managers use size limits and possession restrictions to manage the recreational fishery and catch quotas, size restrictions, possession and trip limits, seasonal closures and limited entry regulations manage the commercial fishery (GMFMC and SAFMC 2004; SEDAR 2004).

The Southeast Fisheries Science Center of the National Marine Fisheries Service monitors the abundance of King Mackerel in the South Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico. The Mackerel Stock Assessment Panel of the South Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Councils meets annually to review the status of the King Mackerel populations and to recommend the annual Acceptable Biological Catch (the amount of fish scientists determine can be removed from a wild population without depleting it) for King Mackerel fisheries.

A recovery plan for King Mackerel is no longer needed. Implementation of successful fishery management measures in the mid-1980's enabled the South Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico populations of King Mackerel populations to rebound from being overfished (GMFMC and SAFMC 2004).

In 1998, fishery managers established a commercial permit moratorium that limited access to both the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico King Mackerel fisheries. A limited access system replaced this permit suspension in late 2005, and participation in the commercial fishery is currently capped at the existing restricted number of participants (GMFMC and SAFMC 2004; NOAA 2005).

Bycatch in King Mackerel fisheries is limited, and these fisheries do not typically interact with sea turtles and marine mammals (GMFMC and SAFMC 2004, FR 2006; NMFS 2006b). Hook-and-line fisheries, which contribute the majority of King Mackerel to U.S. markets (NMFS 2006a), are highly selective, and the fish that are discarded are in viable condition.

Reports on discard data from handline fisheries in the South Atlantic indicate that they incidentally catch and discard individuals from overfished species such as Red Drum, Black, Gag, Red, and Warsaw Grouper, Speckled Hind, Red Snapper, and Tilefish, Vermillion and Yellowtail Snapper and Red Grouper, Mangrove and Red Snapper. In the Gulf of Mexico, handline fisheries also catch and discard individuals from overfished species, including Greater Amberjack, Red Grouper, and Red and Vermilion Snapper. It is important to note, however, that these data are not specific to the King Mackerel fishery (Poffenberger 2004).

The data also do not indicate whether handline fisheries are preventing the recoveries of these species. Indeed, fishers participating in the survey reported that most of the fish they discarded were either “majority alive” or “all alive” upon release. Exceptions were Speckled Hind in the South Atlantic, of which 35% were discarded all or majority dead, and Red Snapper in the Gulf of Mexico, of which almost 43% were discarded all or majority dead (Poffenberger 2004).

Fisheries scientists have also examined finfish bycatch in the southern Gulf of Mexico runaround-gillnet fishery for King Mackerel. In the past, they estimated bycatch constituted 16.5% (by weight) of the total catch in the fishery (NMFS 2001; NOAA 1994). However, the majority of species incidentally caught in this fishery are marketable and, therefore, not likely discarded (GMFMC and SAFMC 2004).

We chose to award the high score of 3.00 points, because hook-and-line fisheries, which contribute the majority of King Mackerel to U.S. markets (approximately 88% in 2004; NMFS 2006a), are highly selective compared to fisheries that use other gear types (Morgan and Chuenpagdee 2003), and discarded fish are generally in a viable condition (Poffenberger 2004).

Bycatch of King Mackerel juveniles in the South Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico shrimp trawl fisheries is of some concern (NMFS 1999). Estimates of juvenile King Mackerel taken in Southeast Atlantic shrimp fisheries between 1980 and 1992 range from 8 to 33 million fish. These numbers, however, do not take into account the abundance of King Mackerel populations during that time (Harris & Dean 1998). Moreover, the required usage of bycatch reduction devices on shrimp trawl boats operating in Florida and Texas state waters and in federal waters has reduced the overall level of finfish bycatch in the fisheries (GMFMC and SAFMC 2004).

Bycatch of King Mackerel also occurs in the Gulf of Mexico reef fish fisheries and in the South Atlantic Snapper-Grouper fisheries. Between 1998 and 2002, yearly bycatch estimates in these fisheries ranged from 4,100 to 30,000 King Mackerel individuals from the Atlantic group and 5,100 to 44,000 individuals from the Gulf of Mexico group (Poffenberger 2003).

Since populations of King Mackerel in the South Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico have been consistently increasing since the mid-1990s, however, we chose not to subtract for this factor.

Since November 1994, Florida has banned gillnet fishing within state waters to protect marine mammals (GMFMC and SAFMC 2004). After the gillnet ban, the King Mackerel fishery largely shifted to using handlines, trolls, and rod-and-reel gear. These gears have no bycatch of threatened, endangered, or protected species.

One small runaround gillnet fishery off the Florida Keys and the southwestern tip of Florida remains in operation. The U.S. Office of Protected Resources lists the Gulf of Mexico gillnet fishery as a Category II fishery, which means it poses a medium level of threat to protected marine mammals, specifically Bottlenose Dolphins (FR 2006). However, this categorization does not specifically include this runaround-gillnet fishery, and there is no indication from the South Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Councils that this fishery interacts with and harms Bottlenose Dolphins (GMFMC and SAFMC 2004; Branstetter, pers. comm., 2006).

To account for Florida’s statewide gillnet ban and the lack of interactions with marine mammals in the remaining small Collier and Monroe Counties gillnet fishery, we chose to add for this factor.

The hook-and-line fisheries that contribute the majority of King Mackerel to the U.S. market (NMFS 2006a) are highly selective (GMFMC and SAFMC 2004; Branstetter, pers. comm., 2006).

The hook-and-line gears that capture the majority of King Mackerel are highly selective (GMFMC and SAFMC 2004), and discarded fish are generally in viable condition (Poffenberger 2004).