Age, growth and mortality of damselfish ( Chromis chromis L.) in the eastern middle Adriatic

Abstract

Age, growth and mortality were analysed for damselfish collected in the eastern middle Adriatic Sea. Growth in length, not showing significant differences between sexes, was expressed for the whole sample using the Bertalanffy equation, L t = 142.0(1 − exp(− 0.26( t + 0.30)). Weight increased allometrically for both males ( b = 3.12) and females ( b = 3.08) during the spawning season. Total and natural mortality were found to be Z = 1.07 years −1 and M = 0.72 years −1. The exploitation ratio, E = 0.33, revealed underfished stock conditions in the studied area.