This stu
dy provi
des a contribution to the knowle
dge on
distribution, population structure an
d dyna
mics of Lophius bu
degassa in the North-western Ionian Sea (Eastern Me
diterranean Sea) as well as an esti
mation of its exploitation con
dition. Data were collecte
d during 23 trawl surveys carrie
d out in spring-su
mmer an
d autu
mn fro
m June 1995 to Nove
mber–Dece
mber 2006. Speci
mens were collecte
d between 13 an
d 745
m. No significant tren
ds were shown in the fluctuation of the abun
dance in
dices throughout the stu
dy perio
d, in
dicating a stable con
dition in the stock
distribute
d fro
m the shelf to the upper slope. A
decreasing tren
d with
depth was only shown in the
density in
dex values. The greatest bio
mass values were recor
de
d in autu
mn an
d the highest inci
dence of juveniles (TL < 14 c
m) was observe
d mainly
during the spring. The sizes of the speci
mens in the catch were between 3.5 an
d 114 c
m TL. However, the sa
mple
d population was
mostly
ma
de up of speci
mens s
maller than 24 c
m TL. The fe
males
measure
d between 8 an
d 114 c
m TL an
d the
males between 10 an
d 93 c
m TL. The sex ratio fluctuate
d greatly
during the investigate
d perio
d an
d accor
ding to
depth. The s
mallest
mature fe
male an
d male
measure
d 30.5 an
d 17 c
m TL, respectively. Mature in
divi
duals were collecte
d both in spring an
d autu
mn. Their contribution to the sa
mple
d population was generally rather negligible,
mostly in fe
males. The esti
mate
d growth para
meters were quite
different between sexes with fe
males (L
∞ = 68.45 c
m; k = 0.112 y
−1; t
0 = −1.18 y; Φ′ = 2.72) achieving ol
der size-age than
males (L
∞ = 60.30 c
m; k = 0.109 y
−1; t
0 = −1.56 y; Φ′ = 2.60). The age an
d growth perfor
mance exa
mine
d in this stu
dy was confir
me
d by
means of back calculation an
d, for the first years, by length–frequency analysis.
The mortality rate (Z) calculated using the growth parameters derived from the direct age estimation varied between the annual value of 0.54 in 2001 and that of 0.87 in 2000 and 2003. The natural mortality rate (M) was computed using different approaches. In females it was between 0.24 and 0.23 while in males was between 0.25 and 0.24.
Adopting two sets of growth parameters for sex combined and the M value of 0.22 and the value of 0.39, two scenarios for fishing mortality rates and exploitation ratios were obtained. Although, the total and fishing mortality rates and exploitation ratios fluctuated throughout the sampling period no significant trends were detected. The E values changed between 0.59 and 0.77 and no significant differences were observed with the two scenarios.
A growth overfishing condition was detected for the stock in the North-western Ionian Sea. The exploited stock of L. budegassa in the Ionian Sea mainly consists of juveniles younger than 3–4 years old. Although, spawners are extremely scarce, most probably as a consequence of fishing pressure, the continuity of recruitment seems to be guaranteed by adults distributed in “refuge areasȁd; where trawl fishing does not occur.