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Weight‐length relationships and condition factor trends for thirty‐eight fish species in trawled and untrawled areas off the coast of northern Sicily (central Mediterranean Sea)
Author(s) -
Giacalone V. M.,
D’Anna G.,
Badalamenti F.,
Pipitone C.
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
journal of applied ichthyology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.392
H-Index - 62
eISSN - 1439-0426
pISSN - 0175-8659
DOI - 10.1111/j.1439-0426.2010.01491.x
Subject(s) - merluccius merluccius , trawling , fishery , biology , conger , hake , mediterranean sea , mediterranean climate , fish <actinopterygii> , ecology
Summary This paper reports the weight‐length relationship (WLR) for thirty‐eight fish species from the Gulf of Castellammare (NW Sicily, Mediterranean Sea). A total of 59 870 fish were collected and measured during four seasonal trawl surveys carried out in 2005 at 10 to 200 m depth. The b parameter of the WLRs ranged from 1.79 ( Cepola macrophthalma ) to 3.56 ( Conger conger ). Significant differences in both a and b values among seasons were detected for eight species. Moreover, the condition factors (as weight‐at‐length) of Merluccius merluccius and Mullus barbatus were compared in different area/year combinations characterized by the presence or absence of trawling impact. While M. barbatus showed a higher condition factor in trawled areas/years, possibly due to density‐dependent factors linked to the increased biomass in the no‐trawl area, no such link was detected in M. merluccius .