Maturity and fecundity of golden grey mullet (Liza aurataRisso, 1810) in Iranian waters of the Caspian Sea

Abstract

The objective of the study was to determine some reproductive parameters in the golden grey mullet (Liza aurata Risso, 1810) during two periods half a decade apart while also trying from limited data to identify changes in fecundity over the past half century. Maturity and fecundity of golden grey mullet caught in Iranian waters of the Caspian Sea is not well documented and were thus studied during several seasonal cycles during 2002-2004 to establish basic data on reproduction in the area. The fork length (FL) of 462 sampled fish was between 22.1 and 51.9 cm. The fork length-weight relationship derived from all fish was W = 0.0118FL 2.964 . Overall male to female ratio was 1 : 1.42. The reproductive season extended from October to December. Fifty percent of sexual maturity was at FL 26.0 cm. Mature gonads were present in 20% of fish at age 3, 63% at age 4, 88% at age 5, and 97% at age 6. Individual absolute fecundity of the golden grey mullet ranged from 113 386 to 1.47 million eggs, with a mean (±SD) of 451 963 (±274,114.2). An overlap exists between the spawning and fishing seasons. Therefore, the start of the fishing season should be delayed for 1 month in order for stocks to complete their spawning.

Studies on reproduction of the mulletMugil platanusGünther, 1880 (Actinopterygii, Mugilidae) from the Mar Chiquita coastal lagoon, Argentina: Similarities and differences with related species

“…The present work represents the first contribution about the reproductive biology of this species in Argentina. It is evident that mugilids, after its resting and maturing periods in coastal lagoons, estuaries or related environments, perform its reproductive migration towards the sea (Wijeyaratne & Costa 1988;Vieira & Scalabrin 1991;Ibáñez & Gutiérrez-Benitez 2004;Fazli et al 2008;Kendall & Gray 2008;González Castro et al 2009a).…”

Biological and reproductive characteristics of the Patagonian smoothhoundMustelus schmitti(Chondrichthyes, Triakidae) as documented from an artisanal fishery in Uruguay

“…In spite of its simplicity, this method has been rarely applied in fishery sciences (e.g. Norman and Stevens, 2007; Fazli et al., 2008; but see Mollet et al., 2000).…”

A comparative evaluation of hematological and biochemical parameters between the Italian mullet Mugilcephalus (Linnaeus 1758) and the Turkish mullet Chelonauratus(Risso 1810)

“…Most of the research on Chelon auratus was performed in the central and eastern Mediterranean, particularly along all Aegean Sea coasts covering both the Greek and Turkish parts (Minos et al, 2002;Hotos, 2003;İlkyaz et al, 2006;Katselis et al, 2007Katselis et al, , 2010. Previous studies have focused on different aspects of this species such as distribution and migration (Mickovic et al, 2010), age and growth (Mehanna, 2006;Fazli et al, 2008;Kraljevic et al, 2011), and reproduction (Hotos et al, 2000;Ghaninejad et al, 2010).…”