Movement patterns and stock affinities of king mackerel in the southeastern United States

King mackerel Scomberomorus cavalla were tagged and released from southeastern Florida, the Florida Keys, and South Carolina from 1975 through 1979 to document spatial and temporal movement patterns. Distance traveled by tagged king mackerel was not significantly related to size (fork length), but was correlated with number of days-at-large. king mackerel show a cyclical pattern of movement along the Atlantic seaboard of the southeastern United States and coastal waters of the Gulf of Mexico. A migratory behavior may exist in which fish return to the area of release over a period of up to 5 years. The number of fish moving away from the area of release and their direction of movement depend on whether the fish are associated with Atlantic or Gulf waters. The seasonal overlap between the two recognized stocks of king mackerel in southeastern Florida is estimated to be as high as 29.4-41.8%.