Resumo

GOMEZ, Gabriel  e  GUZMAN, Ramón. Reproductive aspects and population dynamics of whaitemouth croaker, Micropogonias furnieri, in the gulf of Paria, Sucre state, Venezuela. Zootecnia Trop. [online]. 2005, vol.23, n.1, pp.69-90. ISSN 0798-7269.

Summary Micropogonias furnieri is one of the main supports of the artisan fishery in the gulf of Paria. It was analyzed the population structure, the weight - length relationship, and the size at maturity of 50% (TL50%), as points of fundamental biological references to evaluate this important fishery resource. A Sample of 721 fish, collected from the artisan fleet landings in Güiria, was analyzed between January and December 2002. Size did not show significant differences between sex (P>0.05), and varied between 233 and 590 mm of total length, with a mean of 381 mm. Most fishes (74.9%) were found in the range of 311 and 470 mm of total length. The weight - length relationship did not show significantly differences (P>0.05) among males and females, so a common equation for combined sex was estimated as W=1.22*10-5 (TL)2.97 with an alometric relative growth (b<3). General sex ratio did not derivate significantly (P>0.05) from a 1:1 proportion. The mature female of small size measured 290 mm and the male 306 mm of total length. The TL50% of males (404.06 mm) and females (390.63 mm) did not show significantly differences (P>0.05), so a common size for combined sex was estimated (404.92 mm) and defined in the equation y=1/(1+e-0.040037*TL) + (15.71092). A significant proportion of individuals in an advanced maturity reproductive stage were observed between January and March and July a December. This could indicate a large reproductive period for M. furnieri, with a greater intensity between July and September. The TL50% and the population average size evidenced a strong fishery pressure on M. furnieri.

Palavras-chave : Micropogonias furnieri; gulf of Paria; artisan fishery; maturity size; size structure.