108 



Fishery Bulletin 92(1), 1994 



Table 3 



Length and age at sexual maturity and first spawning of Amblygaster sirm, Herklotsichthys quadrimaculatus, 

 and Spratelloides delicatulus from various populations throughout their range. (L t = length at maturity, 

 L & . = length at first spawning, L max = maximum size, T mal = age at maturity, T f = age at first spawning, 

 maximum age, K = Kiribati, I = India, SI = Solomon Islands). 



2 



' Sources: (1) present study. (2) Conand (1991). (3) Okera (1982), (4) Dayaratne and Gjosaeter (1986). (5) Williams and Clarke (1983), (6) 

 Hida and Uchiyama (1977), (7) Lewis et al. (1983), (8) Dalzell et al. (1987), (9) Conand (1988), (10) Marichamy (1971), (11) Moussac anf 

 Poupon (1986), (12) Milton and Blaber 11991), (13) Milton et al. (1991), (14) Milton et al. (1990), (15) Mohan and Kunhikoya (1986). 



Using stepwise linear regression, we found that 

 fecundity was related to weight in all species (Table 

 6; Fig. 5). Fecundity of A. sirm was significantly 

 correlated with HSI and fish condition. Fish condi- 

 tion, HSI, and fat index were all correlated with 

 fecundity in H. quadrimaculatus (Table 6). Fecun- 

 dity was significantly correlated with weight and 

 condition at two of the four sites. Although, when 

 data from all sites were combined, weight and fat 

 index were the only significant correlates. 



Fecundity of S. delicatulus varied widely among 

 sites, both within Kiribati and among countries 

 (Table 5). In Kiribati, relative fecundity was higher 

 at Butaritari than at Abaiang (P<0.05), but differed 

 less than among sites in the Solomon Islands. Fe- 

 cundity did not vary seasonally at any site. Relative 



fecundity of S. delicatulus was highest in New 

 Caledonia — significantly higher than at all other 

 sites except Butaritari in Kiribati (Table 5). How- 

 ever, the relative fecundity of S. delicatulus was 

 lower than its congeners, S. gracilis and S. lewisi, 

 at sites where they co-occurred (Table 5). 



We found that the fecundity of S. delicatulus cor- 

 related strongly with fish weight (Fig. 5). The only 

 other factor related to fecundity in S. delicatulus 

 was HSI. There was a significant relationship be- 

 tween fecundity and HSI at Butaritari and Tarawa 

 and when all data were combined. Spawning fish 

 had a higher HSI at Butaritari than at other sites 

 (2.24 ± 0.13 vs. 1.41 ± 0.08; P<0.001). 



The HSI of male S. delicatulus that had a GSI 

 similar to that of spawning females (>5%) was also 



