262 
Fishery Bulletin 96(2), 1 998 
recovering or spent ovaries (stage VIII) increased 
from 9 to 48% between August and September (Fig. 
5). Female fish with mature ovaries were virtually 
absent by November, and those with stage-VIII ova- 
ries represented only ca. 8% of the fish caught both 
in this month and in December. The gonadal devel- 
opment of males followed a similar trend 
to that of females (Fig. 5). 
In each month, the oocyte diameters 
for S. punctata exhibited a well-defined 
mode between 50 and 80 pm (Fig. 6), 
which represents the perinuclear oo- 
cytes. Yolk vesicle and yolk granule oo- 
cytes first appeared in ovaries in April, 
when the diameters of these larger oo- 
cytes ranged between 255 and 430 pm. 
However, many other yolk vesicle and 
yolk granule oocytes were undergoing 
atresia. In the following month, the 
maximum oocyte diameter declined to 
150 pm, reflecting the fact that no yolk 
vesicle or yolk granule oocytes were 
present. In June, the maximum dia- 
meter increased to 465 pm (Fig. 6), as a 
result of the development of yolk vesicle 
and yolk granule oocytes. These large 
oocytes were abundant between June 
and August, and many ovaries were 
dominated by yolk granule oocytes. The 
proportion of yolk vesicle and yolk gran- 
ule oocytes declined in September, and the 
few remaining yolk vesicle and yolk gran- 
ule oocytes that were present in October 
were at an advanced stage of atresia. 
Hydrated oocytes that had collapsed 
during sectioning were found in large 
numbers in some ovaries between June 
and August. Because the ovaries in 
those months sometimes contained 
large numbers of postovulatory follicles, 
they had already discharged hydrated 
oocytes. Furthermore, hydrated oocytes 
and postovulatory follicles were occa- 
sionally found in the same ovary. 
Juvenile recruitment and depth 
distribution 
A 
30 - 
I I I I I I I 
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 
B ; 
1 Nearshore waters 
Embayments & estuaries I — ^ — I 
Offshore waters I — 1 
i i i i i i i 
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 
Total length (mm) 
Figure 2 
(A) Frequency histograms for total lengths of the different age classes of 
Sillaginodes punctata, from data obtained from samples collected by the 
21.5-m seine net in nearshore marine waters and from anglers in deeper 
waters. Sample sizes are given in parentheses. (B) Median, 90 percen- 
tiles, and range of lengths for fish caught in shallow nearshore marine 
waters, deeper waters in marine embayments and estuaries, and in deeper 
and more offshore marine waters around reefs. 
November-January 
IL 
L3 
(132) 
SSSSSk* ►», 
40 1" February-April 
(169) 
Age 
class 
H 
0+ 
□ 
i + 
2+ 
■ 
3+ 
m 
4+ 
Hi 
5+ 
El 
6-14+ 
The new 0+ recruits of S. punctata were 
first caught in late September 1994. The 
minimum standard length of these fish 
remained at ca. 14 mm between 23 Sep- 
tember and 3 November, before increas- 
ing to ca. 30 mm between mid-November 
and mid-December (Fig. 7). The maximum 
length of these new recruits increased 
progressively from 26 mm in late Septem- 
ber to 64 mm by mid-December (Fig. 7). 
