Length-weight relationships and condition factors of Cephalopholis argus harvested in the northern coast of Aceh, Indonesia

Abstract

The peacock hind grouper (Cephalopholis argus) is among several highly exploited grouper fishes globally. Categorized as least concern (LC) in the IUCN, biological data on the species is limited, especially in the Aceh region. This research targeted to investigate the biological features of the C. argus fished on the northern coast of Aceh. The fish samples were collected from Pelabuhan Perikanan Samudera (PPS) Lampulo, Kuta Alam District, Banda Aceh, Aceh from June - September 2020. Overall, 30 specimens C. argus were compiled in this study. The total length (TL) varied between 136.0-284.0 mm, while weight (W) ranged between 46.5-460.0 g. In addition, Fulton's condition (K) ranged from 1.45-4.61, and relative weight (Wr) ranged from 81.75-128.53 g. The LWRs analysis revealed a b value of 3.1329 with a correlation coefficient of 0.94, indicating a positive allometric growth pattern. This study provides length-weight relationships (LWR) and condition factors value for the peacock hind grouper that will assist in building a feasible management of the fish.