McDonough et al,; Fecundity and spawning season oi Mugil cephalus 



833 



length (TL) and body weight (BW=TW-OW). Oocyte den- 

 sity remained relatively stable with size in the fecund fish 

 and this allowed reasonable estimates of potential fecun- 

 dity based on total length and body weight. Age-specific 

 fecundity was highly variable and there appeared to be no 

 consistent relationship. The reproductive season for striped 

 mullet in South Carolina extends from October through 

 April as determined by mean monthly GSI levels and 

 histological confirmation of reproductive state. Potential 

 spawning periods would also occur within this period as 

 evidenced by the elevated GSI levels and the presence of 

 atretic (or possible postspawning) ovaries from December 

 through May. The gonadosomatic index itself is more useful 

 to evaluate reproductive potential when used in conjunc- 

 tion with other techniques, such as histological analysis 

 and oocyte diameter. The models of potential fecundity as 

 they relate to size (total length and body weight) could be 

 useful when applied to catch statistics of length and weight 

 in populations with known size- and age- frequency distri- 

 butions. This application would allow reasonable estimates 

 of potential fecundity for these populations. 



Acknowledgments 



This study would not have been possible without the assis- 

 tance of everyone in the Inshore Fisheries group at the 

 Marine Resources Research Institute of the South Carolina 

 Department of Natural Resources, which includes Myra 

 Brouwer, John Archambault, Hayne Von Kolnitz, Will 

 Hegler, Erin Levesque, Alice Palmer, Chad Johnson, Richie 

 Evitt, Larry Goss, and Travis Waits. We especially thank 

 Chad Altman of the South Carolina Department of Health 

 and Environmental Control for the freshwater specimens. 



We also thank Myra Brouwer for assistance with map fig- 

 ures and the anonymous referees for careful review and 

 suggestions for this manuscript. This research was made 

 possible by National Marine Fisheries Service MARFIN, 

 grant no. NA77FF0550. 



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