Scup (Stenotomus chrysops)

• In the Mid-Atlantic, scup population levels are low, and overfishing is occurring.
• Management efforts by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission and the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council have begun to yield promising results for the rebuilding of scup.
• Scup is a low-sodium, low-fat source of protein. It is high in niacin, phosphorus, vitamins B6 and B12, and selenium. For more on nutrition, see Nutrition Facts. (USDA)
• Scup (or porgy) supports important recreational fisheries in the Mid-Atlantic and New England.

Sustainability Status

Biomass: Scup biomass is 13% of the biomass needed to support maximum sustainable yield.
Overfishing: Unknown
Overfished: Yes (Mid-Atlantic); Unknown (South Atlantic)
Fishing and habitat: Scup are mainly caught using otter trawls. Otter trawls can adversely affect bottom habitat and associated benthic communities. Individual impacts may be relatively minor, but the cumulative effect and intensity of trawling may have long-term effects on bottom communities.
Bycatch: Otter trawls can catch non-target species depending on where and how the gear is being deployed.
Aquaculture: There is currently no commercial aquaculture of scup in the U.S.

Science and Management

U.S. commercial and recreational fisheries for scup are managed under the under the Summer Flounder, Scup and Black Sea Bass Fishery Management Plan (FMP) which is administered jointly by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) and the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (MAFMC). Amendment 8 to the original Summer Flounder FMP incorporated scup into the FMP and implemented several major regulations for the fishery, including annual commercial quotas, recreational harvest limits, permit requirements, minimum fish size and gear restrictions, and a recreational fishery possession limit. In 2007, Amendment 14 established a scup rebuilding plan and incorporated scup gear restricted areas. The rebuilding plan is designed to be a 7-year rebuilding period where B_MSY will be achieved on or before December 31, 2014. However, the rebuilding plan contains language to assess rebuilding progress and adjust the rebuilding time line from 7 years to a maximum of 10 years (ending December 31, 2018) if necessary.

The scup fisheries off the South Atlantic coast are managed by the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council through the Snapper Grouper FMP. A permit is required for the commercial fishery and gear restrictions are also in place. Recreational management measures include retention limits and gear restrictions.

Life History and Habitat

Life history, including information on the habitat, growth, feeding, and reproduction of a species, is important because it affects how a fishery is managed.

• Geographic range: From Nova Scotia to South Carolina.
• Habitat: Eggs and larvae are pelagic and found in coastal waters during warmer months. As larvae mature, they settle to the seafloor and develop into juveniles. Juveniles use a variety of habitats including rocky ledges; artificial reefs; mussel beds; sand, silty-sand, shell, and mud bottoms; and eelgrass. During the summer and early fall, juveniles and adults are common in large estuaries, open sandy bottoms, and structured habitats such as mussel beds, reefs, or rock rubble.
• Life span: Scup can live a long time, up to about 20 years.
• Food: Scup are browsers; they nibble on invertebrates that live on the ocean bottom. They are able to grasp foods with their incisors and crush hard-shelled animals with their strong molars.
• Growth rate: Slow.
• Maximum size: Up to about 18 inches in length and 3 pounds in weight.
• Reaches reproductive maturity: When scup are age 2 and about 8 inches long.
• Reproduction: Scup spawn once a year. Females can produce an average of 7,000 eggs. Eggs are fertilized externally.
• Spawning season: May through August, peaking in June and July.
• Spawning grounds: Over weedy or sandy areas in southern New England from Massachusetts Bay south to the New York Bight.
• Migrations: Scup migrate between coastal waters in summer and offshore waters in winter. They also migrate north and inshore to spawn in the spring.
• Predators: Larvae are preyed upon by a variety of planktivores, including medusae, crustaceans, and fishes. Small and juvenile scup are heavily preyed upon by bluefish, Atlantic halibut, cod, various sharks, striped bass, weakfish, goosefish, silver hake, and other coastal predatory fish. Adults are preyed upon by sharks, stingray, silver hake, bluefish, summer flounder, black sea bass, weakfish, northern stargazer, goosefish, inshore lizardfish, and king mackerel. Wading and diving shorebirds also prey on scup.
• Commercial or recreational interest: Both
• Distinguishing characteristics: Scup are deep-bodied and have very spiny fins. The front teeth are incisor-form and are very narrow, almost conical. There are two rows of molars in the upper jaw. Longspine porgy look similar to scup but may be readily identified by their elongated dorsal spines. Scup are dusky brown with somewhat bright silvery reflections below. Adult fins are mottled with dark brown, and young scup fins may be faintly barred.

Role in the Ecosystem

Additional Information

Market names: Porgy or Scup
Vernacular names: Maiden, Fair Maid, Ironsides, Northern Porgy

Biomass

Biomass refers to the amount of scup in the ocean. Scientists cannot collect and weigh every single fish to determine biomass, so they use models to estimate it instead. These biomass estimates can help determine if a stock is being fished too heavily or if it may be able to tolerate more fishing pressure. Managers can then make appropriate changes in the regulations of the fishery.

Indices of spawning stock biomass (SSB) peaked in the late-1970s and then declined until the late 1990s. SSB indices have increased since 1999 but have been highly variable. Recent indices indicate that the stock is in an overfished condition.

The South Atlantic stock is not assessed.

Note: Biomass indices from the Northeast Fisheries Science Center's spring survey are shown in the graph.

Landings

Landings refer to the amount of catch that is brought to land. Current landings of scup are a fraction of what they used to be. After peaking at 24,700 metric tons in 1963, commercial landings sharply decreased and averaged 5,400 metric tons annually from 1986 to 1995, and ranged between 1,200 metric tons and 4,400 metric tons from 1996 to 2005.

Recreational landings are also presented because the recreational fishery for scup harvests a significant proportion of the total catch. After peaking at 5,300 metric tons in 1986, recreational landings averaged 2,300 metric tons annually during 1986-1995, and ranged between 400 metric tons and 3,800 metric tons during 1996-2005.

Note: Both U.S. commercial and recreational landings are shown in the graph.

Biomass and Landings

Are landings and biomass related? Landings are dependent on biomass, management measures in the fishery, and fishing effort.

Data sources:
Biomass and landings from Northeast Fisheries Science Center Status of Fishery Resources off the Northeastern U.S. - Scup

Important Dates

1983 – Snapper Grouper FMP is implemented
1995 – ASMFC and MAFMC establish a joint management program for scup
2005 – NMFS notifies MAFMC that scup is overfished
2007 – Amendment 14 establishes a 7-year scup rebuilding plan and incorporates scup gear restricted areas
2008 – Rebuilding plan "clock" starts January 1. (The rebuilding plan is designed to be a 7-year rebuilding period where BMSY will be achieved on or before December 31, 2014; however, it contains language to assess rebuilding progress and adjust,the rebuilding time line from 7-years to a maximum of 10 years (ending December 31, 2018) if necessary.)

Notes and Links

General Information:
Northeast Fisheries Science Center Status of Fishery Resources off the Northeastern U.S. - Scup

NEFSC Essential Fish Habitat Sources Document: Scup

Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission - Scup page

South Atlantic Fishery Management Council - Scup Identification and Regulations

NEFSC Scup Tagging Cooperative Research Program

Fishery Management:
Summary of the history of the Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass FMP

FMP for the Snapper Grouper Fishery of the South Atlantic Region

Stock Assessments:
35th Northeast Regional Stock Assessment Workshop - Scup