Life-History Traits and Fisheries of Coral Groupers Plectropomus areolatus (Rüppell, 1830) and Plectropomus marisrubri (Randall & Hoese, 1986) in the Eastern Red Sea

This study presents updated biological and stock assessment information for two coral groupers, Plectropomus areolatus and Plectropomus marisrubri, in the Eastern Red Sea. A large sample collected from nine landing sites provided new estimates of growth, maturity, mortality, and exploitation, derived from otolith ageing, length–weight relationships, and yield-per-recruit and spawning potential ratio analyses. The two species showed distinct life-history patterns, with P. areolatus maturing earlier and exhibiting faster growth. Both species were found to be overexploited under current fishing pressure, with spawning biomass reduced well below commonly used sustainability thresholds. These results indicate that reductions in fishing mortality are required to rebuild reproductive capacity, particularly for P. areolatus. Management actions, such as increasing hook selectivity and enforcing minimum landing sizes, are supported by the observed maturity schedules. Seasonal protection of spawning periods is consistent with the low spawning potential ratios. This study provides the first recent age-based assessment for these two species in the region, offering a biological basis for species-specific management planning in the Eastern Red Sea.