Some indicators for assessing stock of golden rabbitfish (Siganus guttatus, Bloch 1787) in Wakatobi Waters, Southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia

Abstract

Golden rabbitfish (Siganus guttatus) is an important species to people in Wakatobi islands that are surrounded by the Banda Sea and the Flores Sea. They catch the fish for local consumptions and trade processed fish to other areas. This study aims to determine estimates of the fish's growth, mortality, and exploitation rates. The study was conducted from January to November 2016 in Wakatobi. Analysis was carried out the FISAT II package. The fish length ranged from 8.0 to 49.0 cm with an average of 26.19 cm. The growth pattern of male fish was positive allometric while for female fish was allometric negative. The sex ratio was inbalanced. The estimate of length at first capture (Lc) was 27.65 cm (FL) while the estimate of length at first maturity (Lm) was 30.49 cm (FL). The natural mortality (M) was 1.51/year while the fishing mortality was 1.28/year and the exploitation rate was 0.46/year. The SPR was 0.49, indicating the exploitation rate of Siganus guttatus in the studied areas is still at the optimum condition.