Preliminary estimate of spawning frequency and batch fecundity of Brazilian flathead, Percophis barsiliensis, in coastal waters off Buenos Aires Province

MILITELLI, M I; MACCHI, G J

SCIENTIA MARINA

INST CIENCIAS MAR BARCELONA

Año: 2001 vol. 65 p. 169 - 172

0214-8358

Spawning frequency and batch fecundity were estimated for Brazilian flathead, Percophis brasiliensis, of the argentine coastal waters. Samples of this species were collected during the spawning period in November 1998 and 1999. Spawning frequency, determined using the percentage of females with postovulatory follicles, was about 17% during November1998. This percentage indicates that P. brasiliensis spawned, on average, once every 6 days during this month. Batch fecundity, estimated from counts of hydrated oocytes, was fitted to a power function of length and a linear function of ovary-free female weight. Batch fecundity ranged from 37,500 (47 cm total length) to 614,300 (68 cm total length) hydrated oocytes. Relative fecundity estimated for the two years sampled ranged from 95 to 672 hydrated oocytes/g of female weight (ovary-free). Annual differences in the size-batch fecundity relationship and in the relative fecundity were observed.