Abstract
Background. Fisheries in the Mekong River are characterized by high pressure and extremely low selectivity towards fishing targets, which greatly complicates the conservation and possible restoration of the region's biodiversity. Relevance. Knowledge of fish population structure and biology is essential for fishery management and rational use of resources; however, the fisheries of the region are predominantly artisanal, for which the information on catches is scarce. This work is aimed at a study of the morphological characteristics of Smith's barb Puntioplites proctozystron (Bleeker, 1865) and the distribution of its quantitative parameters. Methods. The data have been collected from the bottom trawl catches in the Mekong River Delta that were conducted using a beam trawl in the low water and flood periods of 2018–2022. Results. The average abundance and biomass of this species in fresh waters were 8.3±20.8 ind./ha and 114.7±229.4 g/ha, and in the estuary they were 0.6±2.7 ind./ha and 12.1±63.5 g/ha. These quantitative parameters for Smith's barb in the relatively shallow and low-flow Hau River and its estuarine channels were statistically significantly higher than in the rest of the delta estuary system (8.5±22.2 ind./ha and 110.7±248.7 g/ha as compared to 1.4±6.5 ind./ha and 25.0±90.1 g/ha). Examination of morphological characteristics showed a very low variability of traits in mature individuals; the coefficient of variation was less than 10 %. Conclusion. The obtained results indicate the absence of sexual dimorphism and different morphotypes in the population, provide the ground for minimum landing size recommendations, and can serve as a foundation for the further population research of this species.
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