Estimation of a selected population parameters for Turkish marine waters' red mullet Mullus barbatus ponticus Essipov, 1927 (Actinopterygii: Perciformes: Mullidae)

Abstract

In order to calculate the length–weight and length–to–length relationships for red mullet Mullus barbatus ponticus Essipov, 1927 in Turkish marine waters, samples were collected from the Marmara Sea, the Northern Aegean Sea and the Western Black Sea by trawler from 2013 through 2016 fishing season. In the study in which 1,756 individuals were sampled, the number and proportion of individuals obtained from the Western Black Sea Region was 9.7% with 171 individuals from Amasra and 65.3% with 1,148 individuals from Ereğli; it was 1.7% with 30 individuals from the Marmara Sea, while it was 23.2% with 407 individuals from the North Aegean Sea. The total length was 6.3 to 20.5 cm, while the weight ranged from 2.54 to 89.53 g. In addition, 49 length–weight relationship values were examined from the literature of red mullet sampled in Turkish marine waters from 1977 to 2017. The smallest b value was determined as 2.84 from Iskenderun Bay and the highest was 3.3916 from the Izmir Bay. The median value of b was 3.188; it was observed that 50% of the b values ranged from 3.092 to 3.26.

Keywords

• Mullus barbatus ponticus
• length–weight relationships
• length–length relationships
• growth parameters
• positive allometry