232 



Fishery Bulletin 94(2). 1996 





4 . » ,v> 



JIIU 



Age (days) 



Figure 9 



Growth curves for male Loligopealei hatched during June-October (dashed 

 line and open trianglesl and during November-May (solid line and solid 

 triangles) in length (A) and in weight (B). 



and weight were also detected between immature and 

 mature squid. In general, intensive harvest of slow- 

 growing immature squid has the potential to reduce 

 fishery production through a decrease in yield per 

 recruit. 



No clear effect of hatch year on growth rate was de- 

 tected in this study. However, these data were not col- 

 lected for the purpose of examining yearly differences 

 in growth rates, and any annual effects were likely con- 

 founded by the effects of hatch month, sex, and matu- 

 rity stage. Further research conducted with more ex- 

 tensive multi-year collections will likely be needed to as- 

 certain the importance of annual effects on growth rate. 



The estimated growth curves for indeterminate- 

 sex squid indicated that their pattern of growth was 

 exponential as suggested by Hanlon et al. ( 1987) who 

 examined growth rates of juvenile L. pealei in closed- 

 system aquaria. Growth of indeterminate-sex squid 

 in weight was less rapid than that for adults and 

 would be predicted to slow outside the range of ob- 

 served ages, when these juveniles would develop 

 identifiable sexual characteristics. In contrast, 

 growth of indeterminate-sex squid in length was 

 roughly 1.0% per day. In comparison, growth curves 

 for females and males indicated exponential growth 

 with instantaneous daily growth rates of 0.8% to 1.5% 



