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Scup Index of Abundance

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Scup Scup range from Nova Scotia to eastern Florida, but are rarely found south of North Carolina. They can grow to 45 centimeters (1.5 feet) in length.
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Scup In Chesapeake Bay, Scup are most common during the summer months in the lower regions of the estuary. The estuary is rarely used as a nursery area by early juveniles (25-40 millimeters fork length), but older juveniles can be found in the bay during their second summer, and first appear in trawl catches in May.
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Scup vs Pinfish vs Pigfish Scup belong to the Sparidae family, otherwise known as porgies. Here is a Scup (top) and a Pinfish representing the porgy family. Another similar looking fish, the Pigfish, from a different family (Haemulidae), is on the bottom. All three species can be caught on the trawl at the same time.
scup teeth
Scup Teeth Scup and many other fish in the Sparidae family have strong molars which help them eat hard-shelled prey like crabs, snails and clams.

Scup young-of-year index of abundance figure. The graph shows Scup young-of-year annual indices of abundance from all sampling stations from 1988 to 2022.

About the data

This species first recruits to the survey gear in May. Sampling stations from the lower segments of the bay are used to calculate the index of abundance.

The young-of-year cutoff values are as follows (index months are listed in bold):
  • May: 35-90 mm.
  • June: 40-100 mm.
  • July: 50-125 mm.
  • August: 60-145 mm.
  • September: 75-160 mm.
  • October: 85-170 mm.
  • November: 90-170 mm.
  • December: 90-170 mm.
  • January: 90-170 mm.
  • February: 90-170 mm.
  • March: 90-170 mm.
  • April: 90-170 mm.

Data collected after the transition to a new vessel and net in June 2015 have been adjusted by a species-specific calibration factor.

Scup Excel file (Microsoft Excel download)

For more information on how this species is managed, please visit the ASMFC website.