ABSTRACT

Flatfishes use estuaries as recruitment habitats and nurseries. The purpose of the present study was to assess the seasonal use and abundance (as measured by Catch Per Unit Effort) of flatfishes from September 2004 to February 2006 in Wylly Creek, a shallow estuarine creek in Georgia. Monthly sampling was conducted with a 1-meter beam trawl. The bay whiff Citharichthys spilopterus was the most abundant species collected with a maximum mean CPUE of 34.7 recently settled juveniles in January 2005, while the black-cheek tonguefish Symphurus plagiusa was collected most regularly. The ocellated flounder Ancylopsetta quadrocellata were mostly collected in spring. ...