The scup (''Stenotomus chrysops'') is a

fish A fish (: fish or fishes) is an aquatic animal, aquatic, Anamniotes, anamniotic, gill-bearing vertebrate animal with swimming fish fin, fins and craniate, a hard skull, but lacking limb (anatomy), limbs with digit (anatomy), digits. Fish can ...

that occurs primarily in the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

from

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

. Along with many other fish of the family

Sparidae Sparidae is a family of ray-finned fishes belonging to the order Spariformes, the seabreams and porgies, although they were traditionally classified in the order Perciformes. The over 150 species are found in shallow and deep marine waters in t ...

, it is also commonly known as porgy. Scup grow as large as and weigh , but they average . Scup can live up to 20 years; females can begin to reproduce at the age of two. Every year female scups lay approximately 7,000 eggs in sand and weed abundant areas. In the Middle Atlantic Bight, scup spawn along the inner

continental shelf A continental shelf is a portion of a continent that is submerged under an area of relatively shallow water, known as a shelf sea. Much of these shelves were exposed by drops in sea level during glacial periods. The shelf surrounding an islan ...

. Their

larvae A larva (; : larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into their next life stage. Animals with indirect developmental biology, development such as insects, some arachnids, amphibians, or cnidarians typical ...

end up in inshore waters, along the coast and in

estuarine An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environm ...

areas. At two to three years of age, they mature. Scup winter along the mid and outer continental shelf. When the temperature warms in the spring, they migrate inshore. They are fished for by both commercial and recreational fishermen. The scup fishery is one of the oldest in the United States, with records dating back to 1800. Scup was the most abundant fish in colonial times. Fishermen began using trawls in 1929, which increased catches dramatically. The species was termed

overfished Overfishing is the removal of a species of fish (i.e. fishing) from a body of water at a rate greater than that the species can replenish its population naturally (i.e. the overexploitation of the fishery's existing fish stock), resulting in the ...

in 1996, and today there is evidence of a rebound. Today, scup are still caught primarily using an otter trawl.

Cuisine

The flesh is "firm and flaky", Alan Davidson, ''North Atlantic Seafood'', 1979, , p. 101 with a "sweet almost shrimplike flavor". Many consumers like their light flavor and they are characterized as

panfish The word panfish, also spelled pan-fish or pan fish, is an American English term describing any food fish, edible freshwater fish that usually do not outgrow the size of an average frying pan. It is also commonly used by recreational fishing, re ...

. Popular methods of cooking include frying, broiling, and baking. Though the flesh is similar to that of more prestigious fish in the

sea bream Sparidae is a family of ray-finned fishes belonging to the order Spariformes, the seabreams and porgies, although they were traditionally classified in the order Perciformes. The over 150 species are found in shallow and deep marine waters in te ...

family like daurade and

orata The gilt-head bream (''Sparus aurata''), also known as the gilthead, dourade, gilt-head seabream or silver seabream, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Sparidae, the seabreams or porgies. This fish is found in the Eas ...

, the names "scup" and "porgy" are sometimes considered unattractive, leading to

culinary name Culinary names, menu names, or kitchen names are names of foods used in the preparation or selling of food, as opposed to their names in agriculture or in scientific nomenclature. The menu name may even be different from the kitchen name. For exa ...

s like orata Americana and Montauk sea bream. Its similarity to ''

Pagrus major ''Pagrus major'', the red seabream, red pargo, red porgy or silver seabream, is a species of marine ray-finned fish in the family Sparidae, which includes the seabreams and porgies. This species is found in the Western Pacific Ocean. The fish ha ...

'' and its mild and fatty characteristics makes it suitable for

sushi is a traditional Japanese dish made with , typically seasoned with sugar and salt, and combined with a variety of , such as seafood, vegetables, or meat: raw seafood is the most common, although some may be cooked. While sushi comes in n ...

Management

Scup are heavily fished commercially and recreationally. Management measures for the species generally include size limits, bag limits, fishing seasons, and equipment requirements. Scup are also managed through quotas that are separately regulated during the different seasons.Scup
''NOAA FishWatch''. Retrieved 5 November 2012. In Massachusetts, management plans result in the distribution of 78% of the yearly permitted harvest of scups for commercial purposes, and 22% for recreational fishing.

Fishing

Since scups attack bait frantically, squid strips are the most common choice of bait because they stay intact and suspended on the hook after several strikes. Anglers also use sand-worms and clam as baits for scup due to clams and worms being part of the scups actual diet.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2151537 Commercial fish Fish of the Atlantic Ocean Sparidae Fish described in 1766 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus

Cuisine

Management

Fishing

See also

References