Age and growth of blotched picarel (Spicara maena Linnaeus, 1758) in the Sea of Marmara and Northern Aegean Sea

Abstract

Abstract: : The aim of this study was determining of some population parameters of Spicara maena in the Sea of Marmara and North Aegean Sea. Samples of S. maena were collected from commercial fishing, gillnet/trammel net and line fishing, between February-October 2013 in the Northern Aegean Sea (Dikili, Altinoluk, Kucukkuyu) and the Sea of Marmara (Karabiga, Bandirma, Tekirdag). A total of 323 S. maena specimens were analysed. The total length of the specimens ranged from 8.4 to 18.8 cm. The length-weight relationships for the Sea of Marmara and the Northern Aegean Sea were a=0.0030, b=3.53, SEb=0.080 and a=0.0100, b=3.06, SEb=0.120 respectively. The b values showed that the growth of S. maena in the Northern Aegean Sea was isometric while the sample in the Sea of Marmara showed positively allometric growth. Fish aged 1-4 years in the Sea of Marmara and 2-6 years in the North Aegean Sea were present in the samples. Growth in length including both sexes was expressed using the von Bertalanffy equation, L∞=17.17 cm, k=0.52 y, t0=-1.04 y-1 in the Sea of Marmara and L∞=18.71 cm, k=0.35 y, t0=-1.98 y-1 in the Northern Aegean Sea. The otolith length-total length relationships in the Sea of Marmara and the Northern Aegean Sea were OL=0.301×TL+1.049 and OL=0.249×TL+1.885, respectively. Keywords: Spicara maena, otolith, length-weight relationship