Article 5
Reproductive biology, age and growth of Diplodus puntazzo (Sparidae) from the Gulf of Gabes (Central Mediterranean)
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ABSTRACT. – A study on the reproduction of the sharpsnout seabream Diplodus puntazzo in the Gulf of Gabes (Southern Tunisia, Central Mediterranean) was conducted based on data from 1335 individuals that came from commercial catches made off the coast of the Gulf of Gabes between April 2008 and March 2009. Individuals ranged from 11.4 cm to 26.8 cm total length in size and from 10.42 g to 248.3 g in weight. The overall ratio of males to females was 1:2.82 in favour of females. The reproductive season extended from September to December, with a peak in spawning activity in the end of October and November. Total length (TL) at first maturity for females was 16.43 cm (3.106 years) and 16.09 cm (2.797 years) for males. This study estimates age and calculates growth of this species based on otolith analysis. The growth parameters obtained for combined sexes were L∞ = 28.39 cm (SE = 2.18), K= 0.18 years-1 (SE = 0.04), and t0= -1.65 years (SE = 0.28). The age estimated was 7 years for both sexes.