Reproducción de Carangoides vinctus (Perciformes: Carangidae) en el Pacífico central mexicano

Abstract

This study aims to determine some aspects of the reproduction of Carangoides vinctus, a species caught by the artisanal fishery on the south coast of Jalisco. The captures were made monthly with gillnets from January 1998 to December 2008. The organisms had total length of 17.0 to 41.2 cm, with females averaging 30.1 cm and 30.5 cm males. The sex ratio was 1.0: 1.1 males per females, which is not significantly different from the expected 1:1. A gonadal maturity scale of four stages for both sexes (immature, developing, spawning capable and post-spawning or spent) was used. In the first three stages of the ovary’s development, a septum dividing each lobe was present. In the analysis of oogenesis, seven oocyte development phases were identified and the oocytes developed asynchronously within the ovary. Based on the microscopic characteristics observed in the testis, it showed a lobular type development. The maximum values of the gonadosomatic index, the percentage of mature gonads and the oocyte diameter suggest that C. vinctus has a reproductive period from March to May. The length at sexual maturity (L50) was estimated at 26.04 and 23.77 cm for females and males, respectively; these sizes are lower than the average catch size in both sexes, suggesting that organisms are caught commercially when they have reached sexual maturity.