Assessment of age and growth parameters of the nakedband gaper Champsodon nudivittis (ogilby, 1895) with different models in the eastern mediterranean

Abstract

This study was aimed to determine the age and the growth parameters of the nakedband gaper Champsodon nudivittis (Ogilby, 1895). A total of 329 samples were collected from the eastern Mediterranean Coast of Turkey between October 2011 and April 2012. Lengths and weights of sampled fish ranged from 6 to 14 cm and from 1.05 and 25.08 g, respectively. Sex ratio (1: 1.12) was biased toward males (P < 0.05) and positive allometric growth was determined in the sampled data. Length-weight relationship for all individuals was described by parameters; a = 0.0149 and b = 3.09, with r2 = 0.99. The population consisted of five age-classes (0-4 years). Four growth models were used to identify the growth characteristics. Von Bertalanffy, Richards and Gompertz. Among these, the Richards model was the one best fitted to the data.