Free Standard AU & NZ Shipping For All Book Orders Over $80!
Register      Login
Marine and Freshwater Research Marine and Freshwater Research Society
Advances in the aquatic sciences
Shopping Cart: ( empty )
You are here: Home > Journals > MF > MF04056
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 56(2)

Age and growth of two endemic flatfish (Colistium guntheri and C. nudipinnis) in central New Zealand waters

D. W. Stevens A D , M. P. Francis A , P. C. Shearer A , R. P. McPhee B C , R. W. Hickman A and M. J. Tait A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A National Institute of Water & Atmospheric Research Ltd, Private Bag 14901, Wellington, New Zealand.

B School of Biological Sciences, Victoria University of Wellington, PO Box 600, Wellington, New Zealand.

C Present address: 3 Irwell St, Island Bay, Wellington, New Zealand.

D Corresponding author. Email: d.stevens@niwa.co.nz

Marine and Freshwater Research 56(2) 143-151 https://doi.org/10.1071/MF04056
Submitted: 24 March 2004  Accepted: 21 February 2005   Published: 12 April 2005

Abstract

Brill (Colistium guntheri) and turbot (C. nudipinnis) were aged by counting opaque growth zones in whole and sectioned otoliths. Zones counts from whole otoliths under-estimated age compared with counts from thin otolith sections. Other species of flatfish that have previously been aged from whole otoliths should be re-examined for evidence of age under-estimation, which may be common in species with thick otoliths. Marginal analysis of thin sections supported the hypothesis that one translucent and one opaque zone are formed each year in brill aged 5–10-years old. Marginal analyses for brill greater than 10 years of age, and for turbot, were inconclusive. However, 2+ and 3+ captive-reared turbot deposited the expected number of opaque zones from hatching. Both species grow rapidly for the first three years of life before growth slows appreciably. Turbot grow faster and larger than brill, and females grow faster and larger than males in both species. Growth is minimal in fish older than five years. Maximum observed ages were 21 years for brill and 16 years for turbot.

Extra keywords: beach seine, brill, otoliths, turbot, von Bertalanffy growth model.


Acknowledgments

We thank Talleys Fisheries Ltd, Greymouth for providing the adult brill and turbot used in this study. Colin Sutton, Peter Horn, Mary Livingston, Neil Bagley and three anonymous referees provided constructive criticism on the manuscript. Caoimhghin Ó Maolagáin assisted with equipment. This research was funded by the New Zealand Ministry of Fisheries under project FLA2000/01.


References

Anderson O. F., Bagley N. W., Hurst R. J., Francis M. P., Clark M. R., and McMillan P. J. (1998). Atlas of New Zealand fish and squid distributions from research bottom trawls. Technical Report 42. National Institute of Water & Atmospheric Research, Wellington.

Annala J. H., Sullivan K. J., O’Brien C. J., Smith N. W. McL., and Grayling S. M. (Comps) (2003). Report from the Fishery Assessment Plenary, May 2003: stock assessments and yield estimates. Unpublished report held in National Institute of Water & Atmospheric Research library, Wellington.

Ayling T., and Cox G. J. (1987). ‘Collins Guide to the Sea Fishes of New Zealand (Revised edition).’ (Collins: Auckland.)

Beamish, R. J. (1979a). Differences in the age of Pacific hake (Merluccius productus) using whole otoliths and sections of otoliths. Journal of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada 36, 141–151.
Colman J. A. (1985). Flatfish. In ‘Background Papers for the 1985 Total Allowable Catch Recommendations’. (Comps and Eds J. A. Colman, J. L. McKoy and G. G. Baird.) pp. 74–78. Fisheries Research Division, NZ Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries. Unpublished report held in National Institute of Water & Atmospheric Research library, Wellington.

Cox D. R., and Hinkley D. V. (1974). ‘Theoretical Statistics.’ (Chapman and Hall: London.)

Deniel, C. (1990). Comparative study of growth of flatfishes on the west coast of Brittany. Journal of Fish Biology 37, 149–166.
Graham D. H. (1953). ‘A Treasury of New Zealand Fishes.’ 2nd edn. (Reed: Wellington.)

Horn, P. L. , and Sutton, C. P. (1996). Validated ages, growth, and productivity parameters for silver warehou (Seriolella punctata) off the south and east coasts of South Island, New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 30, 301–312.
James G. (1969). The escapement of flatfish from trawl nets and studies on the biology of Peltorhamphus novaezeelandiae Guenther. M.Sc. Thesis, University of Otago, New Zealand.

Kimura, D. K. (1980). Likelihood methods for the von Bertalanffy growth curve. Fishery Bulletin(Washington, D.C.) 77, 765–776.
Kirk P. D. (1988). Flatfish. New Zealand Fisheries Assessment Research Document 88/13. NZ Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Wellington.

McPhee R. (1997). Growth of juvenile New Zealand turbot Colistium nudipinnis in the wild and under hatchery conditions. Dip. App. Sci., Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand.

Mundy A. R. (1968). A study of the biology of the sand flounder Rhombosolea plebeia (Richardson) off the Canterbury coast. Ph.D. Thesis, University of Canterbury, New Zealand.

Paul, L. J. (1992). Age and growth studies of New Zealand marine fishes, 1921–90: a review and bibliography. Australian Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 43, 879–912.
Rapson A. M. (1940). The reproduction, growth and distribution of the lemon soles (Pelotretis flavilatus Waite) of Tasman Bay and Marlborough Sounds. Bulletin 7, New Zealand Marine Department Fisheries, Wellington.

Reichert, M. J. M. (1998). Etropus crossotus, an annual flatfish species; age and growth of the fringed flounder in South Carolina. Journal of Sea Research 40, 323–332.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Roff D. A. (1991). The evolution of life-history variation in fishes, with particular reference to flatfishes. In ‘Texel Flatfish Symposium, 1990. Proceedings of the First International Symposium on Flatfish Ecology, Part 1’. Netherlands Journal of Sea Research 27, 197–207.

Stevens D. W. (1993). A comparative study of the otoliths and associated labyrinthine apparatus of the New Zealand flatfish (order Pleuronectiformes). M.Sc. (Hons) Thesis, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand.

Stevens D. W., James G. D., and Francis M. P. (2004). Maximum age of New Zealand sole (Peltorhamphus novaezeelandiae) from the west coast South Island. Final Research Report for Ministry of Fisheries Research Project FLA2003/01. National Institute of Water & Atmospheric Research, Wellington.

Tait, M. , and Hickman, B. (1997). Flatfish aquaculture. NIWA Aquaculture Update 19, 6–7.


Vassilopoulou, V. , and Ondrias, I. (1999). Age and growth of the four-spotted megrim (Lepidorhombus boscii) in eastern Mediterranean waters. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 79, 171–178.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |