Abstract
The reproductive biology of Lutjanus vitta from the West Sulu Sea, Philippines was investigated by monthly sampling from October 2012 to December 2013. The reproductive activity was assessed to: characterize the sex ratio, determine the spawning period, estimate length and age at maturity (L50, A50) and determine the batch fecundity (BF). The overall sex ratio differed significantly (p < 0.05) among size classes and months with male and female dominance, respectively. As expected for tropical fish, spawning occurred year-round with two main spawning periods (April and October). The highest gonado-somatic index (GSI) values were recorded with two peaks for females in April (2.53%) and October (2.48%), which correspond to the two main spawning periods and one peak for males in April (1.55%). Males reached the length and age at sexual maturity (L50 = 22.8 cm, A50 = 2.19 yrs.) and females (L50 = 21.3 cm, A50 = 1.76 yrs) indicating that sexual maturation differed by age and size across sexes. Fecundity increased exponentially with fish length and weight demonstrating a non-linear relationship between fecundity and fish size.
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