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Full-Text Articles in Aquaculture and Fisheries
Maturity, Spawning, And Ovarian Cycle Of Atlantic Croaker, Micropogonias-Undulatus, In The Chesapeake Bay And Adjacent Coastal Waters, Luiz R. Barbieri, Mark E. Chittenden, Susan K. Lowerre-Barbieri
Maturity, Spawning, And Ovarian Cycle Of Atlantic Croaker, Micropogonias-Undulatus, In The Chesapeake Bay And Adjacent Coastal Waters, Luiz R. Barbieri, Mark E. Chittenden, Susan K. Lowerre-Barbieri
VIMS Articles
The reproductive biology of Atlantic croaker, Micropogonias undulatus, collected during 1990-91 from commercial catches in Chesapeake Bay and in Virginia and North Carolina coastal waters (n=3,091), was studied by using macroscopic and microscopic gonad staging, the gonadosomatic index, oocyte diameter distributions, and histological analysis. Atlantic croaker are multiple spawners with asynchronous oocyte development and indeterminate fecundity. Mean length at first maturity for males and females was 182 and 173 mm TL, respectively. More than 85% of both sexes were mature by the end of their first year and all were mature by age 2. Spawning extends over a protracted period …