Abstract
Small-scale fisheries in Brazil contribute to a significant share of total fish production, accessing a large variety of species. Life history parameters from these resources are important for their management and conservation, based on primary data. The objective of this article is to generate growth parameters and mortality rates of ten fish populations from a coastal zone in Southeastern Brazil. Monthly samples were taken between January 2011 and November 2014 from landings of the beach-seine fishery in an area adjacent to the entrance of the Guanabara Bay. All fishes were measured (total length) and weighed. The length-weight relationships (LWR) were estimated by linear regression analysis on log-transformed data of the equation: W = aLb. The Von Bertalanffy Growth Function (VBGF) was fitted to size-at-age data to obtain growth parameters (K, L∞). The length-converted catch curve was used for estimating the instantaneous total mortality (Z). Taylor’s equations provided an independent estimate of the natural mortality (M) and longevity. The difference between Z and M derived Fishing mortality (F). A total of 2,938 individuals from ten fish species were used to determine the length-weight relationships. Harengulaclupeola (Cuvier, 1829) has a new maximum length record for the FishBase LWR database. Sardinellabrasiliensis (Steindachner, 1879) presented the smallest and largest size recorded for LWR observed in the literature and FishBase database. Upeneusparvus showed the greatest total length, while Trichiuruslepturus Linnaeus, 1758, Orthopristisruber (Cuvier, 1830) and Dactylopterusvolitans (Linnaeus, 1758) presented the smallest sizes for LWR in FishBase. The other species showed parameters within the expected values for each group. The performance index combining information from K and L∞ presented values between 2.32 and 3.76 and were considered appropriate for the populations evaluated. Fishing was the primary source of mortality for Caranxcrysos (Mitchill, 1815), Eucinostomusargenteus Baird & Girard, 1855, S.brasiliensis and U.parvus, and less important for Cynoscionjamaicensis (Vaillant & Bocourt, 1883), D.volitans, O.ruber, Selenesetapinnis (Mitchill, 1815), T.lepturus and H.clupeola. The parameters generated may be used for the management and conservation of the species’ stocks.
Highlights
Direct readings of hard structures to estimate the age of fish, or indirect estimates based on length distribution data over time are traditional methods to determine growth parameters of fish populations (Gayanilo et al 2002, Panfili et al 2002)
A new maximum length was recorded for Harengula clupeola (Cuvier, 1829) (22.5 cm TL)
The data set does not provide first records for the other species in the FishBase database, but present larger and smaller size amplitudes than those previously reported for Brazil and the FishBase
Summary
Direct readings of hard structures (e.g., otoliths, spines, vertebrae) to estimate the age of fish, or indirect estimates based on length distribution data over time are traditional methods to determine growth parameters of fish populations (Gayanilo et al 2002, Panfili et al 2002). The development of the length-based stock assessment methodologies and relative growth models (Huxley 1993), simplified the investigation of population dynamics of fish stocks in tropical waters (Froese and Binohlan 2000). These methods were applied in recent decades (Sparre and Venema 1992, Castro et al 2002, Velasco et al 2007, Panhwar and Liu 2013) to tests life-history hypothesis It contributes to making predictions about the exploitation of fish populations, which may help for the selection of alternative management choices (Costa and Araújo 2003, Froese 2006, Garcia and Duarte 2006, Costa et al 2014, Sá-Oliveira et al 2015)
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