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Abstract

Sparid fishes (Sparidae) are one of the most important species due to its highly economic value in Egyptian Mediterranean waters GFCM-GSA26. They contribute about 8% of the total Mediterranean catch and consist of at least 13 species exploited by more than one fishing gear. The common pandora, Pagellus erythrinus in GSA26 is an important species with a very high commercial value. It is a target of the trawl fleet operating during the whole fishing season. There are no significant differences between males and females age and growth parameters. Age was determined from the whole otolith readings; the ages observed were covered five age groups from 0 to 4 years, corresponding to 7.0 and 22.9cm of total length (TL). The von Bertalanffy growth parameters for pooled data were L∞=26.39 cm, k=0.34 year−1 and t0= −0.79 year. Reproductive biology of P. erythrinus in GSA26 was investigated and the monthly gonado-somatic indices and the variations in maturity stages indicated that P. erythrinus spawns in the spring and summer from March to August. The overall sex ratio throughout the study period was 1:1.29 males to females, which was significantly different from 1:1. The size at 50% sexual maturity was 14.8 and 14.2cm TL for males and females respectively. It was found that about 40% of P. erythrinus were caught before reaching their first sexual maturity indicating that the current minimum legal length in GSA26 is not appropriate for managing this species. The study recommends reduction of fishing pressure especially during the spawning season and increase the mesh sizes of nets used.

Keywords

Mediterranean Sea Pagellus erythrinus Age determination Sex ratio Spawning season

Article Details

How to Cite
FAHMY MEHANNA, S. (2022). Age, growth and reproductive dynamics of the common pandora, Pagellus erythrinus from GFCM-GSA 26, Mediterranean Sea, Egypt. Iranian Journal of Ichthyology, 9(1), 32–42. https://doi.org/10.22034/iji.v9i1.857

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