Fish length and otolith size of in Nemipterus randalli Russel, 1986 (Actinopterygii: Perciformes: Nemipteridae) collected from Gökova Bay, Turkey

Abstract

Otoliths have been proved an appropriate tool to identify fish species, and they have been in use in studies of prey-predator relationships, population dynamics and ichthyo-archaeology. In addition, the fish otoliths are frequently used to decide age and size of the teleost fishes. The relationships between otolith measurements (length, width, and weight) and fish length and weight were calculated for Randall's threadfin bream, Nemipterus randalli collected from Gökova Bay, Turkey. Otolith length, width and weight were shown to be good indicators of the length of fish, but the best indicator was the otolith length. Sizes of the left and right otoliths were found not be significantly different.