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Vol. 61, 2022
(update: 2022.9.12)
Reproduction of the Blue Jack
Mackerel, Trachurus picturatus,
in Western Portugal: Microscopic Gonad Analysis Reveals Indeterminate
Fecundity and Skipped Spawning Patterns
Ana Neves1,2,* , Vera Sequeira1,2, Ana Rita
Vieira1,2 Elisabete Silva1,
Frederica Silva1,3, Ana Marta Duarte4, Susana Mendes3, Rui Ganhão3, Carlos Assis1,2, Rui Rebelo1,5, Maria Filomena Magalhães1,5, Maria Manuel Gil3, and Leonel Serrano Gordo1,2
doi:10.6620/ZS.2022.61-41
1Departamento
de Biologia Animal, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa,
Campo Grande, 1749-016 Lisboa, Portugal. *Correspondence: E-mail:
amneves@gmail.com (Neves).
E-mail: vlsequeira@fc.ul.pt (Sequeira); arivieira@fc.ul.pt (Vieira);
eli_magalhaes_silva@hotmail.com (E. Silva);
frederica.g.silva@ipleiria.pt (F. Silva); caassis@fc.ul.pt (Assis);
rmrebelo@fc.ul.pt (Rebelo); lsgordo@fc.ul.pt (Gordo);
mfmagalhaes@fc.ul.pt (Magalhães)
2MARE – Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre,
Campo Grande, 1749-016 Lisboa, Portugal
3MARE—Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre, ESTM,
Polytechnic of Leiria, Cetemares, 2520-620 Peniche, Portugal. E-mail:
susana.mendes@ipleiria.pt (Mendes); rganhao@ipleiria.pt (Ganhão);
maria.m.gil@ipleiria.pt (Gil)
4MARE—Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre,
Polytechnic of Leiria, Cetemares, 2520-620 Peniche, Portugal. E-mail:
ana.c.duarte@ipleiria.pt (Duarte)
5CE3C – Centre for Ecology, Evolution and
Environmental Changes, Campo
Grande, 1749-016 Lisboa, Portugal
Received 4 June 2021 / Accepted 18 May
2022
Communicated by Benny K.K. Chan
Blue jack mackerel, Trachurus picturatus, is the fifth
most landed fish species in mainland Portugal, but information on its
reproductive biology is scarce. From September 2018 to August 2019, 626
specimens were collected from commercial vessels to clarify the
reproductive strategy of the T.
picturatus population off the west coast of Portugal. The
proportion and length range of males and females were similar. Only
three of the specimens collected were categorized as immature,
indicating that the fish caught in the fishery are primarily mature.
The spawning season lasted from late January until the end of March,
with gonadosomatic indices being similar for males and females.
Fecundity was indeterminate, and estimated batch fecundity ranged
between 6,798 (at 25.4 cm TL) and 302,358 oocytes (at 33.8 cm TL). The
low number of females showing direct evidence of imminent or recent
spawning suggests a low number of spawning events. In addition, 12.7%
of females were considered non-reproductive due to ovary abnormalities
including parasitic infection by Kudoa
species, atretic structures and skipped spawning
events. This study highlights the importance of accounting for skipped
spawning events and ovary abnormalities in the management of species
fisheries.
Key words: Carangidae,
Low-valued fish, Skipped spawning, Fecundity. Portugal.
Citation:
Neves A, Sequeira V, Vieira AR, Silva E, Silva F, Duarte AM, Mendes S,
Ganhão R, Assis C, Rebelo R, Magalhães MF, Gil MM, Gordo LS. 2022.
Reproduction of the blue jack mackerel, Trachurus picturatus, in western
Portugal: microscopic gonad analysis reveals indeterminate fecundity
and skipped spawning patterns. Zool Stud 61:41. doi:10.6620/ZS.2022.61-41.
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