Scup (Stenotomus chrysops)

• In the Mid-Atlantic, scup population levels are high, and overfishing is not occurring.
• Management efforts by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission and the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council over the last decade have rebuilt the scup stock.
• 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 are generally sold in the marketplace as whole fish averaging 1 pound or less. Scup is often referred to as a pan fish – its small size makes it excellent for pan frying or sautéing.

Sustainability Status

Biomass: Scup biomass in 2008 was about 104% above the target level.
Overfishing: No
Overfished: No (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, recreational fishing seasons, 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 the target population level will be achieved on or before December 31, 2014. Scup was declared rebuilt in 2009.

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.

Scup spawning stock biomass (SSB) in the Mid-Atlantic region decreased from about 100,000 metric tons in 1963 to about 50,000 metric tons in 1969, then increased to about 75,000 metric tons during the late 1970s. The stock declined through the 1980s and early 1990s to less than 5,000 metric tons in the mid 1990s. With greatly improved recruitment and low fishing mortality rates since 1998, SSB has steadily increased since to about 188,000 metric tons in 2008, well above the target level.

The South Atlantic stock is not assessed.

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. U.S. total commercial landings averaged over 18,000 metric tons per year from 1950 to 1965, peaking at over 22,000 metric tons in 1960, and then decreased to about 1,200 metric tons in 2000, less than 6% of the peak in 1960., Commercial landings have since increased to an average of about 4,200 metric tons from 2003-2008. The majority of commercial landings come from Rhode Island, New Jersey, and New York.

Recreational landings are also presented because the recreational fishery for scup harvests a significant proportion of the total catch, mainly in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and New York. 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 1996-2007.

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

Biomass and Landings

Biomass and landings data can sometimes be used to detect trends in a fishery. They may influence each other, and factors such as changes in management measures, fishing effort, market preferences, or environmental conditions may impact landings and biomass as well.

Data sources:
Biomass and landings from Stock Assessment of Scup for 2009

Important Dates

1983 – Snapper Grouper FMP is implemented
1995 – ASMFC and MAFMC establish a joint management program for scup
2005 – NOAA Fisheries Service 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.)
2009 – Mid-Atlantic scup declared rebuilt

Notes and Links

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

NOAA Fisheries Service Northeast Fisheries Science Center Essential Fish Habitat Sources Document: Scup

Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission - Scup page

South Atlantic Fishery Management Council - Scup Identification and Regulations

NOAA Fisheries Service Northeast Fisheries Science Center 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:
Stock Assessment of Scup for 2009

Page last updated: November 3, 2009