Age, growth and reproduction of European hake (Merluccius merluccius (Linn., 1758)) in the Central Aegean Sea, Turkey

Specimens of European hake were collected by a traditional demersal trawl between July 2004 and June 2007 from zmir Bay, Central Aegean Sea. A total of 2108 individuals were sampled during the study and the female: male sex ratio of the stock was 1:0.89. The length-weight relationship was W=0.00341L(3.24) (R-2=0.994) for all individuals. A high gonadosomatic index was evident over most of the year but it was minimal from August to October. The estimated age composition was 1-5 years; the length and weight at infinity were calculated as L=54.53cm and W=1455.77g respectively. In addition, growth coefficient was found to be k=0.315y(-1) and t(o)=-0.223y (R-2=0.99). Total mortality ratio of the stock was calculated as Z=1.539y(-1), while natural and fishing based mortality ratio were estimated as M=0.579y(-1) and F=0.959y(-1) respectively, with the exploitation ratio (E) of the stock estimated to be 0.624.