Macroscopic characteristics of the gonad maturity stages of dusky parrotfish Scarus niger

Abstract

The dusky parrotfish Scarus niger is an important economic fish. Like other reef fish that have good taste, white and thick meat, and don't have a lot of tiny bones, the dusky parrotfish is a fine food fish. The dusky parrotfish has a very wide distribution in tropical and subtropical sea waters. This study aimed to validate the maturity stage descriptions based on macroscopic characters. The results of this study are expected to be a reference in the study of the reproductive biology of dusky parrotfish and other parrotfishes, such as first maturity and the reproductive cycle. The samplings were done monthly at Makassar Fisheries Port from January 2018 to May 2019. The parameters measured were total length, body weight, gonad weight, gonad length and width, and liver weight. The observed aspect was the gonad colour and condition for both male and female fishes. Five stages of gonad maturity used to identify the gonad maturity stages were quite accurate. The accuracy was indicated by the gonadosomatic index (GSI) and hepatosomatic index (HSI) values that increased progressively from Stage I to IV. This accuracy validates macroscopic characters used for identifying the maturity stage of dusky parrotfish.