Reproductive Cycle of the Striped Eel Catfish Plotosus lineatus (Thunberg)

Reproductive traits and spawning activity of striped eel catfish (Plotosidae) in Kolono Bay, Indonesia

“…After spawning, both values decrease because sperm and eggs decrease, further increasing the amount of energy expenditure for spawning (removing the eggs and sperm). This result is supported in the study by Heo et al (2007) that was conducted in the waters of the Sungsan and Jocheon, Korea. According to histological observations and variations in the GSI values, P. lineatus seems to have a reproductive cycle consisting of several stages.…”

“…In striped eel catfish, the first mature gonad occurs more quickly in females than in male fish (Figure 6), suggesting that female fish gonads mature faster than male fish gonads, at 198.3 mm in size. In the Indian and Korean waters (Vijayakumaran 1997;Heo et al 2007), the P. lineatus gonads have been reported to mature earlier, at 159 mm and >150 mm, respectively. The difference in size can be attributed to the differences in growth rates, food availability, and environmental conditions of the waters that support the growth of striped eel catfish.…”

“…The number of studies on striped eel catfish is lesser than that on gray eel catfish. Previous studies have focused on the growth (Ya et al 2015); risk assessment (Galanidi et al 2019); population dynamics (Asriyana et al 2020a); and bycatch of Plotosidae (Asriyana and Halili 2021); whereas studies on reproductive biology are relatively limited (Vijayakumaran 1997;Heo et al 2007). As part of reproductive traits and spawning activity, information on gonadal somatic index or maturity index (GSI), maturation age, fecundity, and spawning pattern is very important.…”

“…The eel catfish sex ratio was determined by assessing the number of male and female fish, according to the methods of Usman et al (2013a). Observation of gonads was carried out on fish that had undergone the stage of gonad maturity based on Heo et al (2007). Gonadal fish development was determined based on the method of Heo et al (2007), wherein the stages of gonad development of male and female fish are categorized into six stages: early growing, growing, early mature, mature, spent/spawning, degenerative and recovery stages.…”

“…Observation of gonads was carried out on fish that had undergone the stage of gonad maturity based on Heo et al (2007). Gonadal fish development was determined based on the method of Heo et al (2007), wherein the stages of gonad development of male and female fish are categorized into six stages: early growing, growing, early mature, mature, spent/spawning, degenerative and recovery stages. The GSI was determined by comparing the gonadal weight with the bodyweight of the fish (Adebiyi et al 2011;Freitas and Montag 2019).…”