Characterization of some biological aspects of Atherinella brasiliensis caught during sport fishing tournaments: a case study from northeastern Brazil

Abstract

Fishing tournaments represent good opportunities to gather biological information for some species, such as Atherinella brasiliensis. Samples of A. brasiliensis were obtained from fishing tournaments promoted in the states of Bahia and Rio Grande do Norte (northeastern Brazil) from 2006 to 2009 (N = 1,124 specimens). For each specimen, total length (TL; cm), fork length (FL; cm), standard length (SL; cm), and total weight (TW; g) were measured. Sex and maturity stage were macroscopically identified. The maximum observed size was 14.9 cm TL. At sizes of 8-13 cm TL, 60- 90% of the specimens were mature. The estimation of length-weight relationships indicated positive allometry: TW = 0.005 TL^3.113 (Bahia) and TW = 0.004 TL^3.236 (Rio Grande do Norte). Length-length relationships were estimated to allow for comparison of the maximum total length with results from the literature for other regions: TL = 1.0615 FL + 0.2179 and TL = 1.1890 SL + 0.2855. Females were more abundant than males in three out of the four samples in which sex was identified.