Scamp (Mycteroperca phenax) is a saltwater, brackish species recorded in the United States. It is mainly found over reef, at depths of 30–100 m.
Scientific name: Mycteroperca phenax · Water: Saltwater, Brackish
Size: up to 107 cm
The scamp is an epinephelid found over ledges and high-relief rocky bottoms, and at low-profile bottoms at depths of 30 to 100 m; it was the most abundant grouper in areas of living Oculina coral formations at 70 to 100 m off the east coast of Florida. It apparently moved inshore when the bottom temperature fell below 8.6 °C, and juveniles are found in shallow water at jetties and in mangrove areas. Its range is the western central Atlantic: the Gulf of Mexico and the east coast of the United States from North Carolina to Key West, and along the southern shore of the Caribbean Sea, with juveniles occasionally found as far north as Massachusetts. Maximum length is about 107 cm total length, commonly about 30 cm, and it can live 21 years, maturing at about 33 cm. It is a highly commercial species and a gamefish, with a very high price category. Fishing vulnerability is high to very high at 69 of 100 and resilience low, and climate vulnerability is moderate to high at 52 of 100. IUCN lists it as data deficient.
Back to home · United States · Species library