Age, growth and reproduction of the axillary seabream, Pagellus acarne, in the Atlantic and Mediterranean waters off southern Spain

The biology, growth and reproduction of the axillary seabream, Pagellus acarne, was studied based on data obtained from the catches of the Andalusia commercial fleet operating off the coasts of southern Spain from October 2003 to September 2004. The axillary seabream had a very wide depth distribution, appearing from the surface down to 500 m depth. The length–weight relationship was given by TW = 0.0048 TL3.3207 (R2 = 0.98) (TW = total weight; TL = total length) for all fish from the Gulf of Cadiz and TW = 0.0093 TL3.1132 (R2 = 0.94) for all fish from the Alboran Sea. The proportion of females to males increases as length increases in both populations and the species is characterized by protandric hermaphroditism. Spawning males were present almost throughout the year although higher percentages were observed in spring and early summer. In females, the spawning period occurred mainly in spring. In both areas, the mean size at first maturity for males was smaller than for females. The mean lengths at first maturity were 18.04 cm for males and 21.7 cm for females from the Gulf of Cadiz, and 17.7 cm and 20.1 cm for males and females from the Alboran Sea, respectively. The average total fecundity was estimated at 290,070 and 173,509 oocytes for Atlantic and Mediterranean individuals, respectively. The parameters of the von Bertalanffy growth model were estimated by age readings of the 247 sagitta collected. Two rings, one opaque and one hyaline, were laid down each year on the otoliths. The opaque zone was formed during spring and summer and the hyaline one during the remaining months of the year. The relationship between otolith radius and total length of the fish was described by the equation: TL = 27.7 OR – 1.8 (r = 0.96) (where OR = otolith radius). The parameters of the fitted Von Bertalanffy growth equation were L∞ = 31.65 cm, k = 0.21 yr−1 in the Gulf of Cadiz and L∞ = 32.14 cm, k = 0.17 yr−1 in the Alboran Sea.