Length-Weight and Otolith Morphometry Relationships of <i>Hoplostethus mediterraneus</i> Cuvier, 1829 from the Saros Bay, Northern Aegean Sea

The relationship between total length (TL) and total weight (TW) and the morphometric relationships of the otolith between total length and otolith length (OL), total length and otolith weight (OW) and otolith length and otolith weight of Hoplostethus mediterraneus were examined in Saros Bay, North Aegean Sea, T & uuml;rkiye. The samples were collected with commercial trawls in Saros Bay from September 2006 to September 2008. A total of 970 specimens were caught at depths of 100-500 m. The average value of fish length was 11.86 +/- 0.14 cm (4.0-22.1 cm), and weight 32.2 +/- 1.0 g (0.83-148.75 g). Otolith size was measured with a minimum of 4.31 mm and a maximum of 12.88 mm. The relationships between TL and TW, OW and OL, OL and TL, OW and TL and OW and OL were determined as TW = 0.010*TL3.10 (r2 = 0.99), OW = 0.0004*OL2.64 (r2 = 0.99), OL = 0.055*TL + 0.564 (r2 = 0.98), OW = 0.0002*TL2.38 (r2 = 0.98), and OW = 0.0004*OL2.64 (r2 = 0.99). The high correlation coefficients (r(2) values) demonstrate the reliability of the established equations, offering a robust framework for estimating the size and weight of this species based on otolith measurements. This study provides crucial insights into the growth patterns and morphometric relationships of Hoplostethus mediterraneus, which can be used to enhance fishery management and conservation efforts in Saros Bay.