Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Marine; brackish; reef-associated; depth range 9 - 180 m (Ref. 93252), usually 20 - 70 m (Ref. 27549). Temperate; 46°N - 26°N, 82°W - 63°W
Western Atlantic: Nova Scotia in Canada to northern Florida in the USA; rare north of Cape Cod in Massachusetts, USA.
Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm 22.1  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 45.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 7251); common length : 30.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 3822); max. published weight: 1.6 kg (Ref. 4699); max. reported age: 7 years (Ref. 55523)
Occurs mainly on sand bottom from inshore estuaries to about 180 m depth. Found occasionally over reefs. Feeds mainly on crustaceans and fishes. Used both for food and fish meal; other uses include for bait, pet food and fertilizer.
Robins, C.R. and G.C. Ray, 1986. A field guide to Atlantic coast fishes of North America. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, U.S.A. 354 p. (Ref. 7251)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-1)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Fisheries: minor commercial; gamefish: yes; bait: occasionally
Tools
Special reports
Download XML
Internet sources
Estimates based on models
Preferred temperature (Ref.
123201): 8.4 - 24.6, mean 12.7 °C (based on 126 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 0.5000 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00776 (0.00477 - 0.01264), b=2.95 (2.81 - 3.09), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species & Genus-body shape (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 4.3 ±0.0 se; based on diet studies.
Generation time: 3.8 ( na - na) years. Estimated as median ln(3)/K based on 1
growth studies.
Resilience (Ref.
120179): Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (K=0.29).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Moderate vulnerability (36 of 100).
Nutrients (Ref.
124155): Calcium = 14.1 [5.7, 28.7] mg/100g; Iron = 0.218 [0.107, 0.440] mg/100g; Protein = 17.9 [15.6, 21.0] %; Omega3 = 0.667 [0.277, 1.956] g/100g; Selenium = 8.88 [3.82, 21.53] μg/100g; VitaminA = 82.4 [24.8, 298.9] μg/100g; Zinc = 0.506 [0.331, 0.763] mg/100g (wet weight);