Growth of anchovy, Engraulis encrasicolus (L.), larvae in the Northern Adriatic Sea

Abstract

Engraulis encrasicolus (L.) was sampled between July and August 1991 in the Northern Adriatic Sea. Specimens were aged by means of growth increments in the sagittal otoliths. The Gompertz and Laird-Gompertz growth equations, commonly used in larval growth analysis, described the larval growth of this species in the length range sampled. The initial length of anchovy larvae at time t = 0 was l 0 = 2.71 mm. The obtained value of the predicted length at metamorphosis was a = 36.87 mm. A growth rate of 0.94 mm d −1 was calculated for 8 mm larvae at a mean temperature of 23.0 °C, whilst the greatest rate was 1.06 mm d −1 for 14.3 mm larvae (14-day-old). Anchovy larvae in the Northern Adriatic Sea grew at approximately the same rate as those in the Western Mediterranean Sea.