Influence of Temperature and Salinity on Embryonic Development, Larval Growth and Number of Vertebrae of the Garfish, Belone belone

Abstract

The garfish (Belone belone L.) commonly occurs in European coastal waters from Norway to the Mediterranean, including the Baltic Sea and the Black Sea (Ehrenbaum, 1904; Colette and Berry, 1965). Spawning takes place in the spring in coastal waters. Sexually mature garfish are caught regularly in the Dutch Wadden Sea in May and June at temperatures of 15–20°C and salinities of 20–30‰ S. The 3 mm diameter eggs normally are found attached by their chorionic filaments to submerged vegetation. Observations on seasonal abundance of adult fish, artificial fertilization of the eggs, embryonic development, and growth of young fish were recorded earlier (Rosenthal, 1970; Rosenthal and Fonds, 1973).