Published in Scientific Papers. Series D. Animal Science, Vol. LXVII, Issue 2
Written by Cătălin PĂUN, George ȚIGANOV, Mădălina GALAȚCHI, Daniel GRIGORAȘ, Cristian Sorin DANILOV, Daniela BĂNARU, Carmen Georgeta NICOLAE
The purpose of this study was the analysis of spatio-temporal variations of length, total mass and the Fulton condition factor (useful index for monitoring feeding intensity) as well as of the length-total mass relationship, which is an important parameter, which helps to know the growth pattern of fish populations. A number of 1200 individuals from the Trachurus mediterraneus species (Steindachner, 1868) that were collected from pelagic trawls and stationary uncovered pound nets along the Black Sea coastal area in the periods 2013-2015 and 2018-2020 were analysed. The average lengths and weights were 11.4 ± 2.3 cm and 14.0 ± 8.3 g, respectively, and the minimum and maximum values were 3.0 and 19.0 cm in length and 0.6 and 61.2 g in weight. The value of exponent b in the equation is 2.9485, indicating that the weight increase is allometrically positive. The mean value of the Fulton was 0.84 ± 0.11, and the minimum and maximum values were 0.42 and 1.74. The average length and average weight were significantly correlated with the Fulton index (r = - 0.069; p = 0.017, respectively r = 0.168; p < 0.0001). The total length and the Fulton index of horse mackerel varied significantly between stations and between years and months, which is most likely due to seasonal variations, as well as trophic differences between areas.
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