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Age, Growth and Reproduction of the Thornback ray, Raja clavata (Linnaeus, 1758) in the Waters Off Gökçeada (the Northern Aegean Sea)

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Abstract

In this study, the age, growth, maturity, and reproductive biology parameters of 262 Raja clavata, which were collected monthly from commercial trawlers off Gökçeada between February 2019 and February 2020, were estimated. The individuals comprise of 55.7% females and 44.3% males. The length of the females ranged between 23-84.2 cm (Disc width: 13.5-55.8 cm) and 11.2-74 cm (Disc width: 8-48.9 cm) for males. For age determination, age readings were performed on the vertebrae of 255 Raja clavata specimens (43.5% female, 56.4% male). The calculated von Bertalanffy growth parameters were estimated to be L∞= 93.04 cm, K=0.17 years-1, to=0.48 years for males, and L∞=102.46 cm, K=0.16 years-1, t0 =0.72 years for females. The minimum and maximum ages of the thornback rays ranged from 1 to 10 years. The first sexual maturity length of the population was measured to be L50 =57.7 cm in males, and L50 =66.1 cm in females.

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Acknowledgements

All the data were obtained from Project, which was supported by The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK), Project Number: 119Y060. This paper was derived from the doctoral research titled “Determination of growth and reproduction characteristics of some elasmobranchii in the North Aegean Sea”. The permit for experimental fishing was granted by the General Directorate of Protection and Control, in the Turkish Ministry of Agricultural and Rural Affairs for the researchers to be able to collect elasmobranchs at these locations in April, May, and June when commercial fishing was prohibited. The authors would like to thank the crew of the fishing vessel “Yalçınoğlu 1” for their help and collaboration. The authors are grateful to Gençtan Erman Uğur, Sibel Atak, Onur Furkan İpek and Buminhan Burkay Selçuk for their assistance in obtaining the fish samples and in the laboratory. One of the contributing authors to this paper, Koray Cabbar is a 100/2000 PhD scholarship holder from the Council of Higher Education in Turkey.

Funding

All the data were obtained from Project, which was supported by The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK), Project Number: 119Y060.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Marine Science and Technology Faculty, Department of Marine Science and Limnology, Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University, Çanakkale, Turkey

    Cahide Çiğdem Yığın

  2. Graduate School of Natural and Applied Sciences, Department of Marine Science and Limnology, Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University, Çanakkale, Turkey

    Koray Cabbar

  3. Marine Science and Technology Faculty, Department of Fishing and Processing Technology, Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University, Çanakkale, Turkey

    Ali İşmen, Mukadder Arslan İhsanoğlu & İsmail Burak Daban

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Contributions

K. C. and B. D. had done field studies, and necessary measurements. C.Ç.Y. and A.İ. wrote the main manuscript text and M.A.İ prepared all figures and tables in the manuscript text. All authors reviewed the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Cahide Çiğdem Yığın.

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Yığın, C.Ç., Cabbar, K., İşmen, A. et al. Age, Growth and Reproduction of the Thornback ray, Raja clavata (Linnaeus, 1758) in the Waters Off Gökçeada (the Northern Aegean Sea). Thalassas 39, 943–951 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41208-023-00532-x

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