Age, Growth and Reproduction of the Goldband Goatfish, Upeneus moluccensis (Bleeker, 1855), in İskenderun Bay, the Eastern Mediterranean

Authors: ALİ İŞMEN

Abstract: The age composition, growth parameters, spawning season, sex ratio, length at first sexual maturity and fecundity of the goldband goatfish (Upeneus moluccensis) caught in İskenderun Bay in the eastern Mediterranean Sea were investigated. Females and males made up 51.6% and 48.4%, respectively, of the particular population of the species. The total length of females ranged from 7.0 cm to 20.5 cm, and of males from 7.0 cm to 17.8 cm. The length (L) - weight (W) relationships for males and females were estimated as W = 0.0118*L^{2.99} and W = 0.0097*L^{3.00}, respectively. The age data derived from otolith readings were used to estimate the growth parameters of the von Bertalanffy equation. The estimated parameters were L_{\infinity} = 25.19 cm, K = 0.197 and t_o = -1.002. The maximum age was 7 for females and 6 for males. The 2-year age group was dominant in the pooled data. Males and females matured at a total length of 11 cm. The monthly values of the gonadosomatic index indicated that spawning occurred mainly between June and September. The fecundity (F) - length relationship was logF = -1.732 + 5.39logL (r = 0.82).

Keywords: İskenderun Bay, eastern Mediterranean, goldband goatfish, growth, reproduction

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