Turkish Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
2015, Vol 15, Num, 4 (Pages: 805-812)
Some Aspects of the Reproductive Biology of Poor Cod (Trisopterus minutus capelanus Lacépède, 1800) in Edremit Bay (the North-Eastern Aegean Sea)
Aydın Ünlüoğlu 1
1 Dokuz Eylül University, Institute of Marine Sciences and Technology, Inciraltı, Izmir, Türkiye
DOI :
10.4194/1303-2712-v15_4_03
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Aspects of the reproductive biology of poor cod were studied from samples collected by bottom trawl in Edremit Bay
during September 1999 and December 2000. A total of 3904 poor cod specimens were investigated consisting of 1946
females, 1576 males and 382 individuals with unidentified sex. The sex ratio (males to females) of poor cod varied from 0.34
to 1.27 and significant differences were found in the unity (1:1) among months. The reproductive period started in December
and continued throughout spring. The main spawning was in February and March. The length at maturity of female observed
to be 11.4 cm while the smallest mature female was 10.8 cm. Batch fecundity was found to be highly variable between
individuals and ranged from 765 to 7958 eggs (mean: 2295 eggs, SD: 968 eggs). Batch fecundity increased with fish length
and weight. Relative fecundity varied between 41 and 116 eggs/g (mean: 76 eggs/g, SD: 12 eggs/g) for the fish weight ranged
from 14.2 to 83.6 g.
Keywords :
Poor cod, the north-eastern Aegean Sea, spawning period, length at maturity, fecundity