Study on the biology of the small scaled terapon Terapon puta (Cuvier, 1829) from Bardawil Lagoon, North Sinai, Egypt

This work aims to investigate some biological aspects as length-weight, age composition, sex ratio, Gonado-Somatic Index (GSI) and fecundity of the small- scaled Terapon puta (Cuvier, 1829) in Bardawil Lagoon, North Sinai, Egypt. The study was carried out during the period from May 2017 to January 2018. The results revealed that the total body weight relative to the total body length is positive isometric, b = 3.0209. The length at first capture was 11.9 cm, and the length groups 12-12.9 cm have predominated the fish population (17.8%). Four age groups were detected, and the age composition of T. puta indicated that individuals belonging to age group I dominate the fish population (38.6% of the total collected individuals). The overall sex ratio indicated that the females T. puta were dominant throughout all the months except in November. The lowest values of GSI of T. puta were recorded in November and December while its highest values recorded in June. The length at first mature (L₅₀) was determined as 13.2 and 13.7 cm for males and females respectively. The fecundity increase with increasing the total body length with correlation coefficient (r² = 0.89). To facilitate the management of modern fisheries of this species , the recommendation should be directed to equal  length at first capture by the length at first mature and not less than 13.8 cm to give the females to spawn even once to keep stock of the fish in Bardawil Lagoon.