New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research abstracts

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Size at the onset of sexual maturity in female Jasus edwardsii (Decapoda: Palinuridae) in New Zealand

J. H. Annala

J. L. McKoy

J. D. Booth

R. B. Pike*

Fisheries Research Division, Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, P.O. Box 19062, Wellington, New Zealand

Abstract The size at the onset of sexual maturity for female rock lobsters, Jasus edwardsii, was defined as the size or size class at which 50% of the rock lobsters in a sample were mature, and was estimated at 27 localities around New Zealand. Animals were regarded as mature if they were bearing external eggs attached to the pleopods or if there were well developed setae on the endopodites of the pleopods. Samples from the same location in different years showed little variation in the size at the onset of maturity. There was, however, considerable variation between localities, ranging from 72 mm carapace length near Gisborne to 121 mm carapace length in eastern Foveaux Strait. Size at the onset of maturity showed an inverse relationship with water temperature. The relationship between the size at the onset of maturity, age, growth rate, and water temperature is discussed.

Keywords Jasus edwardsii; size; sexual maturity; fishery resources, fishery management; water temperatures.

New Zealand Journal of Marine & Freshwater Research, 1980, 14(3): 217-227
Received 5 March 1980; revision received 12 June 1980 Fisheries Research Division Publication 412

PDF file of entire paper: medium quality (647K); (scanned from paper original: notes about this process)

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