Addressing life history information gaps for Caribbean parrotfishes: queen parrotfish Scarus vetula and stoplight parrotfish Sparisoma viride

Abstract Queen parrotfish Scarus vetula and stoplight parrotfish Sparisoma viride are widely distributed throughout the subtropical/tropical regions of the northwestern Atlantic, play important ecological roles in reef ecosystems, and contribute to small-scale commercial landings within several Caribbean management jurisdictions. Prior to this work, no comprehensive life history information existed for either species that combined otolith analysis and gonad histology. Queen parrotfish ( n = 390) and stoplight parrotfish ( n = 1801) were sampled throughout the U.S. Caribbean from 2013 to 2023. Queen parrotfish range in size from 82 to 402 mm FL and age from 0 to 16 years; stoplight parrotfish ranged from 73 to 433 mm FL and 0 to 20 years. Growth parameter estimates for queen parrotfish were L ∞ = 347 mm FL and K = 0.42, when t 0 was fixed to −0.06; for stoplight parrotfish, L ∞ = 332 mm FL and K = 0.39, with a fixed t 0 of −0.06. All female queen parrotfish transitioned to males by a maximum length and age of 322 mm FL and 14 years. In contrast, not all female stoplight parrotfish transitioned to males since the largest and oldest individuals sampled were females. Spawning capable queen parrotfish females were collected from November to August indicating a protracted spawning season of 10 months. Stoplight parrotfish exhibited year-round spawning with >50% of mature females in the spawning capable phase during all months of the year. Based on our overall findings related to life history, queen parrotfish and stoplight parrotfish in the U.S. Caribbean did not appear to exhibit signs of overexploitation which may in part relate to U.S. Caribbean management efforts currently in place that limit the minimum mesh size for traps (which ensures that smaller fish can escape from the traps), a ban on using gillnets to target parrotfish species, and the market driven targeting of “plate-size” fish by commercial spearfishers. The life history information documented in the current study will provide essential information for stock assessments and informed management in the U.S. Caribbean for these two important parrotfish species.