Gag (Mycteroperca microlepis)

Scientific name: Mycteroperca microlepis Goode & Bean, 1879

Gag (Mycteroperca microlepis)

The Gag (Mycteroperca microlepis) is a brackish-water fish of the family Serranidae.

Biology

Juveniles occur in estuaries and seagrass beds; adults are usually found offshore on rocky bottom (rarely to 152 m), occasionally inshore on rocky or grassy bottom. It is the most common grouper on rocky ledges in the eastern Gulf of Mexico. Adults are either solitary or in groups of 5 to 50 individuals; feed mainly on fishes, some crabs, shrimps, and cephalopods. Juveniles (less than 20 cm) feed mainly on crustaceans that live in shallow grass beds.

Source: FishBase, licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

Species facts

Scientific name
Mycteroperca microlepis
Family
Serranidae (Sea basses: groupers and fairy basslets)
Order
Perciformes (Perch-like fish)
Class
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned fishes)
Maximum length
145
Common length
50.0
Depth range
40–152 m (131–499 ft)
Environment
Marine; brackish; reef-associated; oceanodromous; depth range 40 - 152 m
Climate
Subtropical
Distribution
Western Atlantic: North Carolina, USA (with juveniles occurring as far north as Massachusetts) to the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico. Rare in Bermuda; one record in Cuba; also reported from eastern Brazil.
Conservation status (IUCN)
Least Concern (LC), IUCN Grouper and Wrasse Specialist Group
Threat to humans
Harmless
Uses
Fisheries: highly commercial; gamefish: yes
Resilience
Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (K=0.12-0.16; tm=3-8; tmax=16; Fec>10,000)

Sources

Taxonomy, distribution and biology data: FishBase (Froese, R. and D. Pauly, eds.), licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

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