Reproductive Biological Performance of Otolithes ruber (Bloch and Schneider 1801) in San Miguel Bay, Philippines

Abstract

The tigertooth croaker, Otolithes ruber (Bloch and Schneider 1801), was studied to determine its reproductive biology characteristics for 34 months from March 2015 to November 2017. A total of 7,977 individuals were sampled and the measured total lengths (TL) ranged from 8.1 cm to 32.1 cm (16.70 ± 2.53 cm ) and 10.0 cm to 33.5 cm (17.95 ± 2.95 cm) for male and female, respectively. The length-weight relationship can be summarized as W = 0.00521 L3.18 and W = 0.00837 L3.01 for female and male, respectively. The length at first maturity of this species was determined to be 13.95 cm, which is smaller compared to other studies. The overall sex ratio of this species was 1:0.8, with males dominating the female sex (P < 0.05, X2 = 64.3). In addition, synchronized development of male and female gonads was observed. It was also verified that mature individuals were present all throughout the study period indicating that this species spawn continuously and the presence of juveniles during the sampling period indicated continuous recruitment. Mean monthly GSIs indicate July to November as the main spawning season of this species. The in-site occurrence of mature and juvenile stocks in the bay further implicates that San Miguel Bay is a nursery ground for this species. The fecundity varied between 3,420 to 422,100 with an average fecundity of 86,142 eggs. Lastly, the spawning potential ratio is still above the limit reference point (SPR = 0.36), indicating that the stock can still replenish their biomass.