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 > MF07131
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 59(3)

Approach to ageing and growth back-calculation based on the otolith of the southern boarfish Pseudopentaceros richardsoni (Smith, 1844) from the south-west Indian Ocean seamounts

Luis J. López-Abellán A B , María T. G. Santamaría A and José F. González A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Centro Oceanográfico de Canarias, Instituto Español de Oceanografía, Avda. Tres de Mayo nº 73, 38005 Santa Cruz de Tenerife, España.

B Corresponding author. Email: luis.lopez@ca.ieo.es

Marine and Freshwater Research 59(3) 269-278 https://doi.org/10.1071/MF07131
Submitted: 10 July 2007  Accepted: 5 March 2008   Published: 30 April 2008

Abstract

Age and growth of southern boarfish Pseudopentaceros richardsoni (Smith 1844) from south-west Indian Ocean seamounts were studied based on whole otolith readings using a non-linear back-calculation method and geometric mean regression to resolve the problem of the lack of young fish in the catches owing to age segregated habitat use by this species. Ages of the fish under study ranged from between 5 and 14 years (45.7–72.5 cm total length). Changes in relative growth of annuli were most probably related to aspects of the life history, such as migration to settle on seamounts. Age distribution was related to depth. The von Bertalanffy growth parameters for all individuals were L∞ = 65.1 cm; K = 0.27 year–1 and t0 = –0.34 years, obtained by mean length-age from back-calculated lengths. These data are needed to assist in the wise management of this potential fishery and the back-calculation approach shows promise for other species where juvenile fish are difficult to obtain. It is also clear that more information about the southern boarfish biology is needed to establish bases for a responsible fishery development off the seamounts of the Southern Indian Ocean and other deep-sea regions.

Additional keywords: deep-sea fish species biology, southern seamounts.


Acknowledgements

We thank Virgilia Yance for her help in collecting biological samples in the south-west Indian Ocean in 2001 by the Puente Ladeira trawler.


References

Araya, M. , and Cubillos, L. (2002). El analisis retrospectivo del crecimiento en peces y sus problemas asociados. Gayana (Concepción) 66(2), 161–179.
Chikuni S. (1970). The “phantom fish”. Fisheries Research Laboratory News 3, 1–4. (Transl. J. H. Shohara.) (NMFS, NOAA, Southwest Region, Terminal Island, CA.)

Ewing, G. P. , Lyle, J. M. , Murphy, R. J. , Kalish, J. M. , and Ziegler, P. E. (2007). Validation of age and growth in a long-lived temperate reef fish using otolith structure, oxytetracycline and bomb radiocarbon methods. Marine and Freshwater Research 58, 944–955.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Folkvord A., and Mosegaard H. (2002). Growth and growth analysis. In ‘Manual of Fish Sclerochronology’. Ifremer-IRD coedition. (Eds J. Panfili, H. Pontual, H. Troadec and P. Wright.) pp. 146–166. (Brest, France.)

Francis, R. I. C. C. (1990). Back-calculation of fish length: a critical review. Journal of Fish Biology 36, 883–902.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Heemstra P. C. (1986). Pentacerotidae. In ‘Smiths’ Sea Fishes’. (Eds M. M. Smith and P. C. Heemstra.) pp. 622–623. (Springer-Verlag: Berlin.)

Honma, Y. , and Mizusawa, R. (1969). A record of the young of boar fish, Pseudopentaceros richardsoni, from North Pacific. Japanese Journal of Ichthyology 15(3), 134–142.
Humphreys R. L., and Tagami D. T. (1986). Review and current status of research on the biology and ecology of the genus Pseudopentaceros. In ‘Environment and Resources of Seamounts in the North Pacific’. (Eds R. N. Uchida, S. Hayashi and G. W. Boehlert.) pp. 55–62. (NOAA Technical Report NMFS 43, Shimizu, Japan.)

Humphreys, R. L. , Winans, G. A. , and Tagami, D. T. (1989). Synonymy and life history of the North Pacific pelagic armorhead, Pseudopentaceros wheeleri Hardy (Pisces: Pentacerotidae). Copeia 1989(1), 142–153.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Romanov E. V. (2003). ‘Summary and review of Soviet and Ukrainian scientific and commercial fishing operations on the deepwater ridges of the Southern Indian Ocean.’ (FAO Fisheries Circular, no. 991. FAO: Rome.)

Siegel , S.  and Castellar , N. J.  (1988). ‘Nonparametric Statistics for Behavioral Sciences.’ (McGraw-Hill International: New York.)

Somerton, D. A. , and Kikkawa, B. S. (1992). Population dynamics of pelagic armorhead Pseudopentaceros wheeleri an Southeast Hancock Seamount. Fishery Bulletin 90(4), 756–769.
Takahashi Y., and Sasaki T. (1977). Trawl fishery in the central North Pacific seamounts. Division of Northern Waters Groundfish Resources, Far Seas Fisheries Research Laboratory. (Transl. T. Otsu. 1977. Trans. Nº 22.) (Southwest Fisheries Center, NMFS, NOAA, Honolulu, Hawaii.)

Uchiyama, J. H. , and Sampaga, J. D. (1990). Age estimation and composition of pelagic armorhead Pseudopentaceros wheeleri from Hancock Seamounts. Fishery Bulletin 88(1), 217–222.
Zar J. H. (1984). ‘Biostatistical Analysis.’ 2nd edn. (Prentice-Hall, Inc.: Englewood Cliffs, NJ.)