Age and growth of gilthead sea bream (Sparus aurata Linnaeus, 1758) from Northern Aegean Sea (Turkey)

Abstract

The age and growth of gilthead sea bream (Sparus aurata Linnaeus, 1758) were studied in the present study. A total of 126 specimens were collected from commercial fishmongers during the period between January 2015 and December 2015 from the northern Aegean coasts of Turkey. Fork length and the total weight of aged specimens ranged from 29.5 to 48.0 cm and from 425.00 to 2100.00 g, with a mean of 38.5 cm and 101.23 g, respectively. The length-weight relationship was estimated as W = 0.0053FL3.03 (R2 = 0.95). The von Bertalanffy growth equations were computed as 𝐿∞ = 52.8 cm, k = 0.29 year-1, 𝑡0 = -1.25 year for all samples. The growth performance index (𝛷′) was found as 2.91. There is no study on the biology of the species for the northern Aegean Sea. Therefore, this study provides valuable information for the species in this area.