GROWTH OF LABORATORY-REARED NORTHERN ANCHOVY, 

 ENGRAULIS MORDAX, FROM SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA 



Gary T. Sakagawa and Makoto Kimura^ 



ABSTRACT 



The northern anchovy, Engraulis mordax, was experimentally reared in the laboratory at the South- 

 west Fisheries Center, La Jolla, Calif. Data from three experiments were used to empirically fit a 

 two-phase Gompertz growth model. The model describes growth from hatching to about 20 mo of age. 

 It was estimated that the average length of laboratory-reared anchovies is 102 mm at 1 yr old and 119 

 mm at 2 jT old. Growth of laboratory-reared anchovies was comparable to that of anchovies in 

 the wild. 



Attempts to rear the northern anchovy, En- 

 graulis mordax, at the Southwest Fisheries 

 Center (SWFC), La Jolla, Calif., were begun in 

 1966 when G. O. Schumann collected anchovy 

 larvae in the ocean off La Jolla and successfully 

 reared them using wild plankton as food in the 

 laboratory (Bardach 1968). Schumann's success 

 was followed by other laboratory experiments in 

 which anchovies were reared from eggs, larvae, 

 and juveniles that were caught in the ocean (Ta- 

 ble 1). In 1970, Leong (1971) developed a method 

 for artificially inducing anchovies to spawn by 

 controlling the photoperiod and injecting hor- 

 mones. This technique is currently used at the 

 SWFC to produce eggs and to rear anchovies for 

 experimental purposes. 



One of the purposes of the rearing experiments 

 at the SWFC has been to obtain physiological and 

 biochemical information needed for describing 

 the energy budget of the northern anchovy, and to 

 relate the results to the feeding dynamics of the 

 anchovy population in the California Current, 

 which consists of primarily young fish less than 3 

 yr old. Growth data are needed for analysis of the 

 budget, and various attempts have been made to 

 measure growth in the laboratory. Kramer and 

 Zweifel (1970) and Lasker et al. (1970) reported 

 growth rates of anchovy larvae. In this report we 

 extend their analyses to include growth from 

 hatching to about 20 mo old. We also present a 

 mathematical model that describes this growth 

 and compare our results with those of other 

 investigators. 



^Southwest Fisheries Center La Jolla Laboratory, National 

 Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA, La Jolla, CA 92038. 



SOURCES OF DATA 



Data primarily from experiments of G. O. 

 Schumann (Schumann-I; Schumann-ID, G. O. 

 Schumann and A. Saraspe (Schumann-Ill), and 

 R. Leong (pers. commun., SWFC) were used in 

 our study (Table 1). 



Schumann-II successfully reared larval an- 

 chovies for 22 days at about 22°C water tempera- 

 ture, which is higher than the temperature (15° to 

 16°C) at which anchovy larvae are frequently 

 found in large numbers in the California Current 

 (pers. commun., P. Smith, SWFC). The larvae 

 were fed wild plankton and samples were taken 

 for length measurement approximately daily. 



Schumann-Ill reared anchovies from the egg 

 stage through the juvenile stage in aquaria for 83 

 days on a diet of wild plankton, Artemia salina, 

 and commercial trout food. The experiment was 

 conducted from March to June and the water 

 temperatures in the aquaria were not recorded. 

 However, during March to June the average 

 water temperature in rearing aquaria at the 

 SWFC is generally about 18° to 22°C. 



Leong (pers. commun.) obtained juvenile an- 

 chovies from a live-bait dealer and reared the fish 

 to maturity in a 4.6-m diameter pool (13.2 kl) 

 with circulating seawater. The water tempera- 

 ture in the pool was a few degrees higher than the 

 prevailing water temperature oflFScripps Pier, La 

 Jolla, site of the water intake for the experimen- 

 tal pool (Lasker and Vlymen 1969). Leong fed the 

 fish a diet o( Artemia salina, ground squid and 

 anchovies, and commercial trout food. Once a 

 month about 25 fish were sacrificed for length and 

 weight measurements. 



Manuscript accepted October 1975. 

 FISHERY BULLETIN: VOL. 74, NO. 2, 1976. 



271 



