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Fishery Bulletin 91(2). 1993 



mature males for both seasons were 32 d and 38 d, 

 respectively. 



Females A similar relationship to the males also 

 existed in the ovary weight/age relationship, i.e., both 

 seasons' data points tended to cluster along one ovary 

 weight/age continuum (Fig. 7B). However, the scatter 

 was greater than for males, due to the fact that in 

 both seasons there were individuals with very small 

 ovaries. For example, in both seasons, individuals of 

 40-60 d showed a considerable range in ovary weight. 

 However, as with male testis weight, the spring fe- 

 males also had the heaviest ovaries. Although a num- 



ber of females had large well-developed ovaries, none 

 of the specimens examined had any mature ova present. 



Gonad-soma relationships One possibility for the 

 greater gonad weight in spring vs. autumn could have 

 been due to larger individuals being captured in the 

 spring. However, the plot of gonad weight against 

 mantle length for both sexes (Fig. 7C,D) revealed no 

 size difference in males between seasons and only one 

 spring female slightly larger than the other females. 

 Although there is some overlap in the data for the 

 smaller individuals for both seasons, in the larger sizes, 



