Morphometrics, Meristics and Fecundity Data from Areolate Grouper (Epinephelus Areolatus Forsskål, 1775) from the National Conservation Area of Pulau Pieh
Abstract:
The Agency for National Marine Protected Area (LKKPN) has the main task of managing marine conservation areas in the western part of Indonesia. The Management Plan for the Pieh Island National Conservation Area (PINCA) has the main objective of maintaining and improving the quality of biodiversity by protecting and pre serving fish resources and important ecosystems. Key resources include all coral species in the reefs, turtles and particularly economically important fish species such as grouper. For a balanced management of the grouper fish stocks, data about growth and reproduction are needed. In this paper we reported for the first time population data about Epinephelus areolatus from western Sumatra. The length distribution shows that the grouper population is dominated by individuals in the growth phase towards adulthood. The formula for the length-weight relationship was estimated with W = 0.00928 L 3.08992. From 115 groupers 87 specimens were females with Gonad Maturity Levels (GML) of I (22%), II (22%), III (32%) and IV (24%). The Gonad Maturity Index (GMI) peaked with 1.9 at GML IV, indicating fully mature gonads, ready to spawn. Female fish have larger gonad sizes than male fish. Over all, those data show that waters of Pieh Island and surroundings provide good environmental conditions for the growth of Epinephelus areolatus. Meristic data might indicate morphological uniformity in the grouper population.
