Objective assessment of maturity in the Patagonian squid Loligo gahi (Cephalopoda: Loliginidae) from Falkland Islands waters

Hatfield, E. M. C.; Murray, A. W. A.

Objective assessment of maturity in the Patagonian squid Loligo gahi (Cephalopoda: Loliginidae) from Falkland Islands waters

Hatfield, E. M. C.; Murray, A. W. A.. 1999 Objective assessment of maturity in the Patagonian squid Loligo gahi (Cephalopoda: Loliginidae) from Falkland Islands waters. ICES Journal of Marine Science, 56 (5). 746-756. 10.1006/jmsc.1999.0514

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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1006/jmsc.1999.0514

Abstract/Summary

An objective assessment of maturity in the loliginid squid Loligo gahi was tested using a method developed for L. pealeii utilizing principal component and discriminant analyses. Samples were taken from both seasons of the commercial fishery in the Falkland Islands (prosecuted south of 51°20′S) in 1994 and 1995. In addition, research samples were taken in January, June, and November, outside the fishing seasons, to provide individuals of a greater range of size and maturity. The method, using a combination of indices of somatic and gonad lengths and scoring abundance of eggs and spermatophores in females and males, respectively, proved to be successful both in a research context, when variables can be measured to a high degree of precision, and in a fisheries context where less precision is practicable. The method also detected anomalies in the maturity status of squid that might have been overlooked in a more subjective assessment, corroborating the accumulating evidence for batch-spawning in loliginid squid. Four stages of maturity were recognized for female squid and three for male squid.

Item Type:

Publication - Article

Digital Object Identifier (DOI):

10.1006/jmsc.1999.0514

Programmes:

BAS Programmes > Pre 2000 programme

ISSN:

10543139

Additional Information:

ICES Journal of Marine Science (ICES JMS) flipped to fully open access on 1st January 2023. All content published prior to that date is free to view on the publisher website, and all rights are reserved.

Additional Keywords:

reproduction, maturity scales, multivariate analysis, Loligo gahi, cephalopods

Date made live:

15 Oct 2013 10:25 +0 (UTC)

URI:

https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/503507