A study on age and growth characteristics of spiny gurnard ( Lepidotrigla dieuzeidei Blanc & Hureau, 1973), northeastern Mediterranean Sea

Summary This study investigated the age and growth characteristics of spiny gurnard, Lepidotrigla dieuzeidei , from the northeastern Mediterranean. Samples were collected by commercial trawls during the 2012–2013 fishing seasons. A total 1,878 speciments ranged from 7.10 to 15.90 cm total length and 2.28–35.88 g in weight. Female/male ratio was 1.2/1. The total length–weight relationship was W  = 0.002 TL 3.579 ( r ² = .909) for sexes combined, W  = 0.0021 TL 3.551 ( r ² = .914) for males and W  = 0.0019 TL 3.602 ( r ² = .904) for females. Age determination was conducted using the sagittal otoliths. Ages of examined individulas ranged from 3 to 11 years. Total length‐at‐age data were fitted using the von Bertalanffy growth model. Estimated growth functions were TL t  = 18.100 [1−e − 0.14 ( t  + 0.63) ] for sexes combined, TL t  = 23.587 [1−e −0.08 ( t  + 1.56) ] for males and TL t  = 16.612 [1−e − 0.19 ( t  + 0.15) ] for females.