Preliminary determination of batch fecundity of Grass goby (Zosterisessor ophiocephalus Pallas, 1811) in Izmir Bay (Aegean Sea)

Abstract

         In Izmir Bay (Aegean Sea), the grass goby (Zosterisessor ophiocephalus) reproduces between February and May. In February, the maximum batch fecundity of hydrated oocytes was 16272. The relationship between total length and batch fecundity was F = 4.5423L2.4236 (r = 0.306) according to the oocyte size-frequency method and F = 2.9005L1.6576 (r = 0.073) according to the hydrated oocyte method. The relationship between gonad free weight and batch fecundity was F = 1340.5 + 92.695W (r = 0.328) and F = -2866 + 163.15W (r = 0.528), according to the above methods, respectively. The correlation between the relationships was low. The oocyte and yolk compact mass diameters were 43-1376 m and 301-774 m, respectively. The length at earliest maturity for females was 9.8 cm.