Biological aspects of the Gulper shark, Centrophorus granulosus (BLOCH and SCHNEIDER, 1801), from the Mediterranean coast of Israel

Abstract

       Biological aspects of the gulper shark Centrophorus granulosus were studied from September 1982 to November 1992 along the Mediterranean coast of Israel at depths of 200-1400 m. Males dominated the intermediate depths (550-800 m), while at the shallowest depths (200-400 m) the population consisted mainly of females. Gravid females had only one embryo or a single large egg. Stomach contents revealed that the diet of C. granulosus consisted mainly of cephalopods and meso- to bathypelagic fishes. The ratio of body length to the percentage of liver weight from total body weight increased from ca. 15% in small specimens to ca. 25% in large specimens. A rational fishing exploitation policy, which recommends concentrating fishery on male rich depths, is presented.