Fecundity and sex steroid profile in boarfish Capros aper

Abstract

The boarfish Capros aper is one of the most commonly discarded non-commercial species in the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) Subdivision VIII in the Atlantic. An increasing interest in this fishery and an incomplete knowledge on the status of the stock justified the present investigation focused on the determination of fecundity type and its estimation, supported by sex steroid profiles for 17β-oestradiol (E2), 11-ketotestosterone and 17,20β-dihydroxypregn-4-en-3-one (17,20β-P). C. aper was found to have indeterminate fecundity with a mean relative batch fecundity during the spawning peak of 50 oocytes g−1 eviscerated weight (WE) and a mean relative annual fecundity of 4020 oocytes g−1 WE. E2 variations throughout the year indicated the existence of at least two important spawning events, one in winter (January–February) and the other in summer (June–August), with concentrations in females increasing from those with growing oocytes in the developing phase to those in the spawning capable phase. Higher E2 concentrations were also found from 2000 to 2400 hours and from 0800 to 1200 hours suggesting more intense vitellogenesis activity during the night and in the morning, in contrast to 17,20β-P concentrations, which were higher between 1200 and 2000 hours, suggesting a more intense spawning activity during this period.