Seasonal changes in gonad maturity, and abundance of larvae and early juveniles of barramundi, Lates calcarifer (Bloch), in Van Diemen Gulf and the Gulf of Carpentaria

Abstract

L. calcarifer undergoes a prolonged breeding season that starts just before the summer monsoon. In Van Diemen Gulf the fish spawned in 1978-1979 from September to February, and in the Gulf of Carpentaria in 1979-1980 from November to March. Spawning was localized, occurring near river mouths on coastal mudflats or upstream in rivers where salinities were relatively high (30). There was no evidence for coastal migrations to specific spawning grounds. Juveniles from 9 mm total length entered, on the high spring tides, supralittoral habitats such as tidal pools, gutters, swamps and low- lying inundated coastal floodplain for use as nursery areas.