| Abstract | Spawning is believed to take place in Florida along the coast in bays and passes, the larval forms being swept into the lagoons and estuaries. Juvenile tarpon have been found far up freshwater drainage ditches, canals, rivers, and in ponds. The dates and places of spawning and the extent of spawning and nursery grounds are being investigated. Based on scale analysis and other data, it is concluded that the size of tarpon year-classes do not decrease markedly until an age of 12-13 years, that fishes along the western coast grow faster than those on the east coast, that fish do not grow much in length or weight after age 11 or 12, that very few fish over 11 years have been recorded, that the oldest fish studied to date in age-class 16, and that restrictions in tournament competition eliminate the first 7, likely 8, year-classes on the east coast and the first 4, likely 5, year-classes on the west coast. || ABSTRACT AUTHORS: Courtesy Sport Fish. Absts
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