Age and growth of king mackerel, Scomberomorus Cavalla, from the Atlantic coast of the United States.

Whole sagittae from 683 and sectioned sagittae from 773 "adult" (age> 0 ; 437-1.310 mm FL) and lapiUi from 29 larval (2-7 nun SL) and 69 young-of-the-year (79-320 mm FL) king mackerel. were examined. All fish were from waters off the Atlantic coast of the southeastern United States (Cape Canaveral, Florida to Cape Fear. North Carolina). Back-calculated lengths at ages and von Bertalanffy growth equations were calculated from both whole and sectioned sagittae. Ages determined from sectioned sagittae were significantly greater than ages determined from whole sagittae, and the magnitude of the difference increased with age (from sections). Rings on sectioned sagittae are considered to be true annual increments. fonning during June-September. There was no clear pattern to ring formation on whole otoliths. The oldest fish examined was age 21. The daily nature of rings on lapilli of age 0 king mackerel was not validated. but if the marks are formed daily they suggest growth rates of approximately 0.47 mm/d for early larvae and 2.9 mmld for fish 1-3 months of age