Kingfish (Sea Mullet) - 2012

Stock Status - Unknown – A stock assessment has not been completed to determine the sustainability of kingfish stocks. In lieu of a stock assessment, trends in fishery dependent and independent data are tracked. Commercial and recreational landings in 2011 were below their 10-year average. The majority of the commercial landings were landed in the ocean sink net fishery. The Pamlico Sound juvenile abundance index in 2011 was almost two times the 10-year average. Additionally, three out of the past four years have had very high juvenile recruitment.

Average Commercial Landings/Value - 2002-2011 – 653,006 lbs/ $644,187

2011 Commercial Landings and Value – 486,853 lbs/ $520,413

Average Recreational Landings 2002-2011 – 468,645 lbs, 2011 – 347,694 lbs

Average Number of Award Citations (1.5 lbs.) 2002-2011 – 272, 2011 - 174

Status of Fishery Management Plan (FMP) – The North Carolina FMP (2007) is available on the DMF web site. Two different stock assessments were attempted to determine sustainable harvest levels, but reviewers rejected the stock assessments due to deficiencies in the data. A major deficiency cited by all reviewers was the lack of migration (mixing) data to determine the movement of kingfishes along the North Carolina coast as well as the Atlantic coast.

Data and Research Needs - Studies to determine distribution, stock structure and composition of the three kingfish species found in North Carolina along with habitat utilization, migration studies (tagging), maturity (ongoing) and fecundity studies, age and growth studies (ongoing), validation of a juvenile abundance index, and a stock assessment. A stock assessment for the recently completed FMP was not included due to insufficient biological data for kingfishes.

Current Regulations – For shrimp or crab trawls, three hundred pound trip limit for kingfishes south of Bogue Inlet from December 1 through March 31.

Harvest Season - year round

Size and Age at maturity – 7-9 inches total length (TL)/1 year

Historical and Current Maximum Age – 8 years

Juvenile Abundance Index – 2002-2011 – Pamlico Sound Survey – 4.9, 2011 – 9.2
 
Habits and Habitats – Kingfishes, also known as sea mullet, Virginia mullet, whiting and roundhead, include three species in North Carolina; southern, northern, and Gulf. The southern kingfish is the most abundant of the three species and prefers mud or sand-mud bottom types like the northern kingfish. Gulf kingfish prefer the sandy bottoms of the surf zone. Kingfishes move from estuarine and nearshore ocean waters to deeper offshore waters as water temperature cools. Spawning takes place in the ocean from April to October.

For more information, email Chip Collier at Chip.Collier@ncdenr.gov or call 800-248-4536 or 910-796-7215.