Age, growth and reproduction of the Morocco dentex Dentex maroccanus of the eastern coast of Algeria

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Abstract
A total of 1725 specimens of Dentex maroccanus caught in the eastern coast of Algeria from June 2011 to May 2012 were examined for an age and reproduction study. Total length (TL) ranged from 10.4 cm (16.05 g) to 26.8 cm (300.80 g). The maximum estimated age was 7 years for females and 8 years for males. The growth function of Von Bertalanffy fitted to back-calculated size at age data was: TL = 36.64[1 − e−0.2(t−0.5)] and TL = 37.26[1 − e−0.2(t−0.5)] for females and males respectively. Total length – eviscerated weight (We) relationship was estimated as We = 0.012 TL3.046 for females and We = 0.011 TL3.067 for males, being allometrically positive for both sexes. Sex-ratio was 1:0.9 in favour of females. A five-stage maturity scale based on macroscopic characteristics was identified and used to classify the gonads. The reproductive season, evaluated from a gonadosomatic index, extended from May to September. Fifty per cent maturity of the tested sample was reached at a total length of 14.4 cm TL for females and 15.1 cm TL for males.

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