Comparative Investigations of Red Hind (Epinephelus guttatus) spawning aggregations under different management strategies

A red hind spawning aggregation was found on the northeast edge of the Saba Bank, a large submerged platform in the leeward Antilles of the Caribbean. The bank, 5 km west of the island of Saba and 140 km southeast of St. Croix, rises from the sea floor 1000 m to form an extensive plateau, over 1600 km2 of which is shallower than 50 m. The bank is entirely enclosed in the Exclusive Economic Zone of the Netherlands Antilles. Fisheries on the Saba Bank, particularly lobster and snapper, are economically important to the small island economy of Saba (pop 1600), employing 50 people and contributing 1.1 million US$ to the gross domestic product. Except for prohibition of foreign fishing vessels however, little fisheries management exists.