Age and growth of the queen triggerfish Balistes vetula (Tetraodontiformes, Balistidae) of the central coast of Brazil

Abstract

Dorsal spines (n=649) of the queen triggerfish Balistes vetula were collected between 1997 to 1999 at the central coast of Brazil and used to evaluate fish growth. The marginal increment analysis validated that 1 increment was formed annually (n=476), with minimum values observed at the summer, and coinciding with the maximum proportion of translucent growth bands. Fish's maximum fork length and age were 460 mm and 14 years respectively. The parameters of the von Bertalanffy function were: Fl∞ = 441.3 mm, K = 0.14 and T0= -1.8. Weight gain by year ranged from about 110 g yr-1 for age 5 to about 30 g yr-1 for age 14. Compared to other studies, B. vetula growth in the Central coast of Brazil was slow, which could be related to the influence of the oligotrophic water from Brazil current. Our results indicate that B. vetula's fisheries in the Central coast of Brazil until 1999 have caught mostly adult individuals over the sexual maturation lenght, 60% of them with ages from 6 to 8 yr.