In this study, the morphological characteristics and length-weight relationships of Sciaena umbra (Linnaeus, 1758) belonging to the Sciaenidae family, which is represented by five species in the Mediterranean basin and two species in the Black Sea, were investigated. Sampling was carried out in the Black Sea Region (Samsun, Ordu, Giresun, Trabzon) between March 2019 and February 2020. A total 54 of individuals were sampled and 15 different metric measurements were performed in each sample to determine their morphological characteristics. The mean total length and weight were estimated as 357.8 mm (117-580) and 845.3 g (16.4-2485.1), respectively. Total length was compared with morphometric characters and the lowest ratio was found with eye diameter (4.3%) and the highest ratio was with anal distance (59.9%). In the relation between the total length and morphological characters of the highest and the lowest correlation were observed in dorsal distance with r 2 =0.993 and the anal height with r 2 =0.938. A strong correlation (r 2 = 0.993) was found between the total length and weight relationship and the growth was positive allometric b> 3. This paper reports the first documented of morphometric characteristics of the species. It is considered to contribute to fisheries biology and international scientific literature.

The brown meagre Sciaena umbra Linnaeus, 1758 population has experienced dramatic population declines, and it was regionally assessed as Near Threatened in the Mediterranean. In this study, the current status of brown meagre populations in the Black Sea was evaluated by estimating growth and mortality rates based on age readings from the otolith. All specimens were collected by commercial trammel nets between March 2019 and February 2020 in the Turkish coast of the Black Sea. A total of 324 brown meagre were sampled during the study period, ranging in age from 0 to 26. The peak spawning season of the species was from June to July. The Von Bertalanffy growth parameters of (L∞ = 54.15, k = 0.14 yr-1, t0 = -3.11) supports previous studies and suggests that brown meagre is a long-lived and slow-growing species. The exploitation ratio of 0.53 for females and 0.47 for males. Life-history features and mortalities indicate that the brown meagre has relatively high fertility but may be undefended to intense fishing pressure. However, the impact of overfishing, pollution and climate change can have increasingly detrimental effects on the overall population size of this population.

The occurrence of American blue crab, Callinectes sapidus Rathbun 1896, has been reported from the Black Sea, however, no gravid female has previously observed. Here, we record the first gravid female blue crab from the Black Sea. One individual of Atlantic blue crab was caught at 2 m depth using trammel net on 24 th June 2020. The carapace width, carapace length, and the wet body weight of the crab were 200 mm, 81.03 mm, and 406.22 g, respectively. We also counted the eggs and measured the egg size. We further determined that the majority of the eggs were eyed, suggesting potential adaptation of the blue crabs to the Black Sea ecosystem.