“…Each histological section was scored by estimating the percentage that each of the gonad maturity stages occupied within the total area of the section. Female gonads were classified into maturity stages: I, oogonia; II, previtellogenic oocytes; III, yolk precursor; IV, nonstaining (primary) yolk; V, red-staining (secondary) yolk; VI, spent; and for males: stages I, stem spermatogonia (primary germ cells); II, spermatogonia; III, primary spermatocytes; VI, secondary spermatocytes; V, spermatids; VI, spermatozoa; VII, spent [15,16]. As no observable difference in scoring was detected between replicate blocks from the same fish, only one subsample was taken from the mid-position on a randomly selected gonad lobe for the remaining red snappers samples.…”