Age and growth of the salema, Sarpa salpa (Osteichthyes, Sparidae), off the Canary Islands (East-Central Atlantic)

Abstract

Age and growth of the salema Sarpa salpa off the Canary Islands (east-central Atlantic) were studied by analysis of otolith structures in 1125 individuals sampled from January 1998 to December 1999. A concentric pattern of opaque and translucent zones was readily distinguishable in the otoliths; the opaque zone is formed during the summer, and the translucent one during the winter. The size of the fishes ranged from 119 to 452 mm total length, and their age was from 0 to 11 years. The parameters of the von Bertalanffy growth equation were: L∞ = 479 mm, k = 0.212 year -1, and t0 = - 1.08 year. A backcalculation method demonstrated the validity of using the otoliths to estimate age and growth of S. salpa.