Body Size, Age Structure, Growth, and Maturation of Black Scorpionfish Scorpaena porcus (Scorpaenidae) from Southwestern Crimea (Black Sea)

Abstract

The body size and age structure, as well as the features of growth and sexual maturation, of black scorpionfish Scorpaena porcus from the coastal waters of southwestern Crimea are analyzed. The average body length and weight are larger in the females than in the males: 16.4 cm and 93.0 g vs. 14.9 cm and 62.0 g. The maximum age of the females and males in the catches is 11 and 12 years, respectively. The females (50%) reach sexual maturity by the age of 3−4 years at 13.9 cm TL, while the males (50%) reach sexual maturity by the age of 2−3 years at 13.0 cm TL. After sexual maturation, the growth rate of the fish decreases, but the growth rate of the females is higher than that of the males. The black scorpionfish from Crimea differs from the representatives of this species from the Mediterranean Sea in a slower growth rate.