Somatic growth and age of selected commercial fish species of the Cullera Coast, Iberian Peninsula, south-east Spain

This work provides data on the somatic growth and age of selected commercial fish species of the Cullera Coast, Spain. The biological information available that permits responsible fishing management of these species is relatively scarce. This study was conducted in the Bay of Cullera, Spain (39º 12’to 38º 59’N, and 0º 09’to 0º 15’W); and selected benthic fish species were analysed that are frequently fished by trammel nets (mesh size 28-76 mm) at a maximum depth of 30 m. Maturity , age and growth of 63 torpedoes, Torpedo torpedo (L., 1758), 115 red scorpionfish, Scorpaena scrofa Linnaeus, 1758, 280 red mullets, Mullus surmuletus Linnaeus, 1758, 139 stargazers, Uranoscopus scaber Linnaeus, 1758, and 476 Portuguese soles, Dagetichthys lusitanicus de Brito Capello, 1868 were analysed. The data obtained in this study revealed that 50% of individuals of all the species reached sexual maturity at a TL (total length) of 20.0-36.5 cm and at an age of 2-6 years. The von Bertalanffy growth equation derived were: TL=37.0 (1 - e(-0.2(t + 0.33))); TL =31.5(1 - e(-0.38(t + 0.54))); TL =35.5(1 - e(-0.2(t + 2.08))); and TL =34.3(1 - e(-0.14(t + 2.16))) for S. scrofa, M. surmuletus; U. scaber and D. lusitanicus respectively.

The relationship between fish size and otolith dimensions of stargazer (Uranoscopus scaber) in the south-eastern Black Sea

Relations between fish size and otolith size of stargazer (Uranoscopus scaber) were studied in this study. A total of 268 samples were obtained from the coastal shelf of Ordu Province (south-eastern Black Sea) by commercial trawling and gillnetting operations. It was found that there were high correlations between fish size and otolith size. It was concluded that all measurable body sizes could be effectively used to estimate otolith length, width and weight. Similarly, estimation of the age of fish from otolith length and weight was also possible with high significance. The results of this research will be useful for others working on this fish, being a first study in the field. The ages of stargazer were determined between 0+ and 4+. Relationships were determined as OW = 0.001 × OWi2.76, OW = 0.35 × 10−3 × OL2.54 with high correlation coefficients of r = 0.965 and r = 0.949, respectively.