Reproductive biology of European hake Merlucciusmerluccius (Linnaeus, 1758) in the Egyptian Mediterranean waters

Philips, Amal E.; Ragheb, Evelyn

doi:10.21608/ejabf.2013.2184

Cited by 3 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…In this study, the monthly trend of GSI seems to define a sole reproductive event during the year that extended from November to March with a peak in February. The spawning season here estimated for the Egyptian Mediterranean Sea, including the period between November and March, is also reported by (Al-Absawy, 2008;Philips and Ragheb, 2013) in Egyptian Mediterranean water, as well as in the central and western Mediterranean Sea (Carbonara et al, 2019), the eastern central Atlantic Moroccan coast (Habouz et al, 2011) and in the Sea of Marmara, Turkey (Kahraman et al, 2017). Other authors identified a different period of the spawning season.…”

Section: Total Lengthsupporting

confidence: 79%

“…It was found that lengths over 53 cm TL were 100% female. In the same geographical area, Philips and Ragheb (2013) observed a different result, as did Pieiro and Sanza (2003) in Iberian Atlantic waters where mails dominate the catch. This difference could be due to several factors related to different growth rates; time and method of sampling; adaptation to the reproductive behaviour of the population; environmental conditions and food availability (Nikolsky, 1963;Vandeputte, 2012).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 75%

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Maturity and Gonadosomatic Index of European Hake Merluccius Merluccius (Linnaeus, 1758) From the Egyptian Mediterranean Water

ELGazzar¹,

Mahmoud

Abdelrahman

et al. 2022

Menoufia Journal of Animal Poultry and Fish Production

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Looking at the Mediterranean in particular, we find that its production decreased during the ten years from 77,799 tonnes in 2011 to 49,896 tonnes in 2020, and the quantities produced by some common fish families of economic and nutritional importance also decreased. Especially benthic fish, which are of great importance, especially for residents of coastal cities in the Egyptian country, such as bourbon fish, whose production decreased from 4,124 tonnes in 2011 to only 549 tonnes in 2020, and shrimp production, whose production decreased from 10799 tonnes in 2011 to 5460 in 2020, which is equal to a decrease of 50 % roughly. A total of 572 European hake individuals were collected from commercial demersal trawl fisheries and analyzed to estimate the reproductive biology. The sex ratio M/F was 1:2.16, which means that females dominate the catch. European hake spawns all year round. However, the peak of the gonadosomatic index was in the winter season from November to March, which indicates the peak of the spawning season. Length at the first sexual maturity was estimated at 34.4 cm for females. All of the fish sampled were in the third and fourth stages of maturity. The total length ranged from 17 cm to 69 cm, with an average length of 32.7 cm for all samples.

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Section: Total Lengthsupporting

confidence: 79%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 75%

Maturity and Gonadosomatic Index of European Hake Merluccius Merluccius (Linnaeus, 1758) From the Egyptian Mediterranean Water

ELGazzar¹,

Mahmoud

Abdelrahman

et al. 2022

Menoufia Journal of Animal Poultry and Fish Production

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“…Thus, seasonal changes in the availability of prey can significantly impact the diet of M. merluccius . The increase of ingested pelagic Osteichthyes in the autumn season could be explained by fish movements to shallow parts for reproduction, since the spawning season estimated for M. merluccius in the eastern, central, and western Mediterranean Sea [ 28 , 79 ] and the eastern central Atlantic Moroccan coast [ 48 ] occurred in the autumn season from November to March.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Trophic Interactions of European Hake Merluccius merluccius (Linnaeus, 1758) in Benthic Communities off the Moroccan Mediterranean Coastline: Seasonal and Ontogenetic Shifts

Slimani,

Abdellaoui,

El Ouamari

et al. 2023

Scientifica

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The European hake, Merluccius merluccius (Linnaeus, 1758), is one of the most important resources for Mediterranean fisheries. Due to its pivotal role in energy transfer from lower to higher trophic levels, this species is a crucial component of the ecosystem’s functioning. The ecological role of Merluccius merluccius, off the Moroccan Mediterranean Sea (southern Alboran Sea), was investigated, exploring seasonal and ontogenetic shifts, geographical variations in prey composition, and feeding strategy. Between November 2020 and July 2022, a total of 402 hake specimens were collected by oceanographic bottom trawl surveys (MEDITS) that were carried out during warm and cold seasons to assess their diet and feeding habits. The sample was analyzed according to fish sizes and seasons, and qualitative/quantitative feeding indices were calculated. The trophic spectrum of Merluccius merluccius included 24 prey items in total, mainly belonging to Osteichthyes (12), Crustacea (10), Cephalopoda (1), and Polychaeta (1), suggesting a generalist behavior of this predator as in numerous regions of the Mediterranean Sea, with several species that occasionally occurs in its diet. In the Moroccan Mediterranean Sea, Osteichthyes proved to be the most important prey item (%IRI = 78.56) among the different zoological groups, followed by Crustacea (%IRI = 16.22). The other food items were occasionally and randomly consumed, and cannibalism was low (0.8%). Hierarchical cluster analysis and nonmetric multidimensional scaling (nMDS) showed different feeding habits of two main groups separated at 60% similarity: small specimens <10 cm TL, primarily feed on zooplanktonic prey, while medium and large specimens hold a diet based on Osteichthyes with crustaceans. Furthermore, a significant positive relationship between hake and fish prey size was confirmed. Seasonally, mesopelagic Osteichthyes were the main food prey in the summer season, while pelagic species were predominant during the autumn. SIMPER analysis revealed that the prey items contributing the most to the differences between seasons and length classes were Engraulis encrasicolus, Micromesistius poutassou, Boops boops, Macroramphosus scolopax, gobids, Gadiculus argenteus, and most of Crustacea. The diet does not appear to be influenced by sex (>0.05). A trophic level (TROPH) of 4.1 was calculated, indicating that the species is a top predator (quaternary consumers). The TROPH values ranged between 2.58 and 4.38 from juveniles to adults, increasing asymptotically with the size of specimens. In contrast to what has previously been found in other Mediterranean regions, where ichthyophagous hake feed mostly on pelagic Osteichthyes, such as Engraulis encrasicolus, Sardina pilchardus, and Micromesistius poutassou, the study points up the vital role played by Atlantic horse mackerel Trachurus trachurus for hake diet in the Moroccan Mediterranean Sea. Information on the feeding ecology of fish species as provided in this study is essential to improve ecosystem conservation in accordance with multispecies approach to fishery management, leading to a better understanding of the role of hake in the Moroccan Mediterranean Sea demersal communities.

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Fisheries and stock assessment of the European hake in GSA 04 zone (Algerian eastern coast) - tools for fisheries management and conservation

Kouadria

Tahri²

2023

Biologia

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Reproductive biology of European hake Merlucciusmerluccius (Linnaeus, 1758) in the Egyptian Mediterranean waters

Cited by 3 publications

References 11 publications

Maturity and Gonadosomatic Index of European Hake Merluccius Merluccius (Linnaeus, 1758) From the Egyptian Mediterranean Water

Maturity and Gonadosomatic Index of European Hake Merluccius Merluccius (Linnaeus, 1758) From the Egyptian Mediterranean Water

Trophic Interactions of European Hake Merluccius merluccius (Linnaeus, 1758) in Benthic Communities off the Moroccan Mediterranean Coastline: Seasonal and Ontogenetic Shifts

Fisheries and stock assessment of the European hake in GSA 04 zone (Algerian eastern coast) - tools for fisheries management and conservation

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