New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research abstracts

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Spawning migration of moki (Latridopsis ciliaris) off eastern New Zealand

MALCOLM P. FRANCIS*

Department of Zoology University of Canterbury Christchurch 1, New Zealand

Abstract Commercial fishing statistics for 4 east coast ports, Gisborne, Napier, Wellington, and Kaikoura, were analysed for seasonal changes in moki abundance. Moki from commercial catches at Gisborne and Kaikoura were sampled for sex, body and gonad weight, and reproductive status. A small-scale tagging programme was carried out at Kaikoura. Commercial catches of moki were strongly seasonal, with abundance peaks occurring in August-September at Gisborne, June-July and September-October at Napier, September-October at Wellington, and May-June and October at Kaikoura. Moki were resting or developing reproductively in May-June at Kaikoura, ripe and spawning in August-September at Gisborne, and spent in October at Kaikoura. At Kaikoura the sex ratio in catches was 1 : 1 during both abundance peaks, but at Gisborne males outnumbered females 4 : 1 in early August, with the sex ratio declining to 1 : 1 by mid September. Moki eggs are smooth and spherical with a non-segmented yolk and a single oil drop. They can be distinguished from copper moki (L. forsteri) eggs on the basis of oil drop diameter. Moki tagged at Kaikoura in May 1979 were recaptured at Gisborne (2 fish), Napier (1), and Kaikoura (9). One of the fish recaptured at Gisborne had travelled 540 km in 108 days (5.0 km/day) and the Napier fish 430 km in 65 days (6.6 km/day). Recaptures at Kaikoura showed that both peaks of abundance comprised the same fish. The results suggest the existence of a single stock of moki on the east coast of New Zealand. The fish make an annual spawning migration, swimming north from Kaikoura in May-June, reaching Gisborne to spawn in August-September, and then swimming south, passing Kaikoura again in October.

Keywords Latridopsis ciliaris; Latridae; reproduction; migration; seasonal abundance.

New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research, 1981, Vol. 15 : 267-273 Received 25 November 1980

PDF file of entire paper: medium quality (535K); (scanned from paper original: notes about this process)

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