Three fish species, Bregmaceros atlanticus Goode et Bean, 1886 (Bregmacerotidae), Echiodon dentatus (Cuvier, 1829) (Carapidae), and Nemichthys scolopaceus Richardson, 1848 (Nemichthyidae) were recorded in the Sığacık and Kuşadası Bays (Eastern Aegean Sea, Turkey). B. atlanticus and E. dentatus constitute new records for the Turkish waters and the Aegean Sea, respectively. The finding of Nemichthys scolopaceus is the second record for the Aegean Sea.

Stomach contents of 296 juvenile chub mackerel (Scomber japonicus Houttuyn, 1782) specimens were examined based on samplings carried out in Izmir Bay (Aegean Sea, Turkey) during 2001. In terms of percentage weight (W%), fishes were the main food during summer and autumn. Thaliaceans (Salpa sp.) constituted the most important food source in winter, whereas planktonic crustaceans (Amphipoda, Copepoda) were the main prey during spring. According to the Bray-Curtis similarity index, diet of the chub mackerel was 64.1% similar during the summer, winter and autumn seasons.

The present study was conducted to determine the age relationships in lengths and weights of Boops boops (Linneaus, 1756) in Izmir Bay, central Aegean Sea. A total of 932 specimens (503 females and 429 males) were caught by gillnet, trammel net and a combination thereof on a monthly sampling basis from November 2008 through October 2009. Total length and weight of sampled fish ranged from 11.3 to 27.9 cm and from 12.2 to 261.7 g, with a mean of 19.6 cm and 82.7 g, respectively. Length-weight relationships for all individuals were described by the parameters a = 0.0050, b = 3.237 and r² = 0.956. The von Bertalanffy growth curve fitted to the lengths-at-age provided parameters of L ∞ = 29.87 cm k = 0.243 and t o = À0.98 for males and L ∞ = 30.79 cm, k = 0.239 and t o = À0.90 for females. Based on otolith readings, age determinations varied from 1 to 5 years. Maximum age was 5 years in age group 2, with 29.84 and 37.97% for males and females, respectively. The overall 1 : 1.17 sex ratio of males to females was significantly biased toward females (P < 0.05). There was no statistical difference in the mean condition factor (P > 0.05), with a value of 1.028 for the entire population. The growth performance index (Φ ' ) was 2.33 and 2.36 for males and females, respectively. Results were similar to other geographical areas, which suggests that a common fisheries management might be possible.

No abstract

No abstract