Length-weight relationship and condition factor of Centropomus viridis (Actinopterygii: Perciforms: Centropomidae) in the north coast of Nayarit

Abstract

This study poses two objectives: to determine whether the growth of females and males of the C. viridis is isometric, and whether the commercial fishing changes the condition of snook. The information regarding the length-weight relationship (LWR) is basic for the development of management strategies and conservation of the white snook. The length-weight relationship condition analysis is presented for the snook C. viridis fishery in the north coast of Nayarit. A non-experimental, longitudinal aleatory study was performed. Data was obtained during a six-year period (2010-2015). The weight, total length and sex of 2542 organisms were recorded. The LWR of males from 2010 to 2015 indicated negative allometric growth (p < 0.05), while the females indicated positive allometric growth (p < 0.05). However, the overall analysis LWR for males and females in the whole sampling period (2010-2015) showed negative allometric: b = 2.958 (p < 0.05) and r2 = 0.948. Regarding the analysis of condition, results indicated a value of Kn ≥ 1 in males; females presented a condition lower than 1, which indicated sex-change from male to female. In response to the fishing pressure, the C. viridis has readjusted year after year the minimum size of sex switching, generating slight variations of Kn in females of the C. viridis in the studied area.

Bioeconomic Analysis of Snook Centropomus viridis, C. nigrescens, and C. medius for the Development of Mariculture in Northern Sinaloa

“…The condition-factor analysis of the three snook species studied in the present work presented a value of K < 1. This result differs from that reported by Tapia Varela et al [47], who showed results for C. viridis indicating a value of K ≥ 1 in males, while the females presented a condition lower than 1 (0.98 < 1). Our results may indicate that fishing efforts could be generating variations in the fishing conditions of the populations of the three species in the study areas.…”

“…The negative allometric growth for C. viridis reported in the present study is similar to that estimated by Tapia Varela et al [47] on the north coast of Nayarit (in the general analysis of length and weight for males and females, b = 2.958 was reported). However, Labastida-che et al reported isometric growth for both sexes of white snook in the lagoon systems of the state of Chiapas (b = 2.99) [48].…”

“…Other snook studies focused specifically on C. viridis, the species with the greatest presence on the north coast of Sinaloa and Nayarit, and a maximum length of 131 cm was reported for this species [47], 11 cm longer than the previous length reported [34]. Such a variation in size structure can arise due to the selectivity of the fishing gear, its size, and the fishing technique used [50][51][52].…”