Maturation and Spawning of Largehead Hairtail Trichiurus japonicus Near Jeju Island, Korea

摘要

The reproductive biology of largehead hairtail Trichiurus japonicus, from near Jeju Island, Korea was investigated based on 4,384 individuals collected by commercial vessel from November 2016 to October 2019. There were more female specimens than malespecimens (2.64:1). T. japonicus preanal lengths (PL) ranged from 10.5 to 53.5 cm; the relationships between PL and body weight (BW) were BW=0.0103PL31293 for females and BW=0.0106PL31251 for males. Monthly changes in gonadosomatic index were analyzed to estimate spawning season. The spawning period ranged from June to November. The size-frequency distribution of eggs suggested that T. japonicus exhibits multiple-spawning during a spawning period. The minimum size of females at maturity was 18.2 cm, while the size at sexual maturity was 25.0 cm.