Sheepshead (Archosargus probatocephalus)  is a widely distributed species in the Western Atlantic from Nova Scotia to Brazil in estuarine and marine habitats. This species is common and abundant in many parts of its extensive range. Very little, genetic stock structure information currently exists regarding sheepshead across their range between North Carolina and Texas (Anderson et al. 2007).

Sheepshead are estuarine-dwelling fish; they move offshore to spawn following the onset of cool weather and return to inshore waters in the spring after spawning. They are fractional spawners and estimates of spawning frequency range from daily to once every 20 days (Render and Wilson 1992).

Archosargus probatocephalus is caught mainly with bottom longlines and trawls. It is prominent in the catch of anglers. Sheepshead has been a major component of both commercial and recreational fisheries along the southeastern coast of the United States and in the Gulf of Mexico. There have been recorded declines in annual commercial and recreational landings of this species in the southeastern coast of the United States and in the Gulf of Mexico, however, these are attributed in part to enactment of laws limiting or banning the use of entanglement nets in Florida, Louisiana, and Georgia (Sheepshead Technical Task Force 2006).