Published in Scientific Papers. Series D. Animal Science, Vol. LXVIII, Issue 2
Written by Daniel GRIGORAȘ, Cătălin PĂUN, Cristian-Sorin DANILOV, Dragoș DIACONU, George ȚIGANOV
This study presents the population structure, growth dynamics of the species Rapana venosa (Valenciennes, 1846) with the aim of understanding its response to environmental gradients and anthropogenic pressures, particularly fishing. Data were collected during the 2024 summer expedition, in Romanian coastal area. The sampling depth was between 5 - 35 m and the mean bottom water temperature was 10.81°C. The age composition was formed by 3 to 11 years generations. A total of 3345 specimens were examined, with a mean total length of 63.94 mm and mean total weight of 48.07 g. The length-weight relationship (LWR), characterized by the intercept (a) = 0.00013 and the slope (b) = 3.033, confirmed mostly isometric growth, though some cases showed positive allometry. The high coefficient of determination values (r²) = 0.937 indicate a strong correlation of LWR. The Von Bertalanffy growth model parameters indicate moderate growth potential for the population. Mortality rates, including natural mortality, fishing mortality and total mortality, showed that fishing is the dominant impact factor. High exploitation rates highlighted intense fishing pressure, indicating the need for sustainable management measures.
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