Turkish Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
2013, Vol 13, Num, 1 (Pages: 127-132)
Stock Characteristics and Population Dynamics of the Spiny Cheek Grouper Epinephelus diacanthus (Valenciennes, 1828) from the Arabian Sea, Oman
Sahar Fahmy Mehanna 1 ,A. Al-Marzouqi 1 ,Badria El-Siabi 1
1 Marine Science and Fisheries Centre, P. O. Box, 427, Muscat, Oman
DOI :
10.4194/1303-2712-v13_1_16
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Based on samples of Epinephelus diacanthus (Family: Serranidae; subfamily: Epinephelinae) collected from the Omani
coast of the Arabian Sea, age and growth, mortality and exploitation rates and yield per recruit were studied. A total of 703
fish with total lengths ranging from 16.1 to 55.6 cm were used. Age determination was carried out by examining the growth
increment on both the whole otoliths and the sectioned ones. The von Bertalanffy growth parameters, the instantaneous annual
rates of total, natural and fishing mortalities, length at first capture and the exploitation rate were estimated. Based on these
data, a yield and biomass model was applied. The results indicated that the stock of E. diacanthus in the Arabian Sea is overexploited
and current management measures must be revised to sustain and optimize its yields.
Keywords :
Arabian Sea; Epinephelus diacanthus, age and growth, population dynamics, management