Age and Growth of the Black Scorpionfish Scorpaena porcus Linnaeus, 1758 (Scorpaeniformes: Scorpaenidae) under Anthropogenic Pressure in the Black Sea

Abstract

Age structure and growth dynamics are examined for the black scorpionfish Scorpaena porcus Linnaeus, 1758, from three sites characterized by different levels of pollution: Kazach’ya, Alexandrovskaya, and Streletskaya bays. No substantial differences were found in age structures, which largely correspond to the natural state of the population; differences between the mean age in the least polluted Kazach’ya Bay and the most polluted Streletskaya Bay are not significant (p = 0.35). According to the indicators L∞, W∞, k of females, φ of females, and φ' of females, the black scorpionfish from the least polluted Kazach’ya Bay is characterized by a higher growth rate. However, nonsignificance of differences in the values of these parameters in comparison with the more polluted Streletskaya and Aleksandrovskaya bays does not allow an unambiguous conclusion to be made about the fish growth delay in the latter two.