Life history of black seabream, Spondyliosoma cantharus, off the Canary Islands, Central-east Atlantic

Abstract

Black seabream, Spondyliosoma cantharus, caught off the Canary Islands is characterized by a protogynous hermaphroditism. The size range of the catches is between 8 and 40 cm, with a main distribution between 16 and 24 cm. The mean length of the individuals shows an increase with increasing depth. Males:females ratio is unbalanced in favour of females (1:2.18). The reproductive season extends from late autumn to mid spring, with a peak in spawning activity in January–February. A dichromatism is found between males and females during the spawning season. Males reach maturity at a larger total length, 22.7 cm (3 years old), than females, 17.3 cm (2 years old). Morphometric relationship between length and mass for the whole population is described by the parameters: a=0.00732, and b=3.24747. Otoliths age readings indicate that the exploited population consists of eleven age groups (0–X years), including a very high proportion of individuals between 2 and 3 years old. The von Bertalanffy growth parameters for the whole population are: L∞=43.35 cm, k=0.24 year−1, and t0=−0.11 year. The rates of total, natural and fishing mortality are 1.36, 0.52 and 0.84 year−1, respectively. The length at first capture is 16.8 cm. The exploitation rate indicates that the stock is overfished.