608 
Fishery Bulletin 95(3), 1997 
ln(F) = 4.020 ln(L)- 3.149, 
from which was derived 
F = 0.0429 (L) 4020 , 
where F = total fecundity; and 
L = fork length in centimeters (Fig. 7A). 
Length-based total fecundity estimates ranged 
from 246,000 (48 cm) to 2,224,000 (83 cm) oocytes. 
Total fecundity was also significantly related to so- 
matic fish weight (df=ll,F=264.7, P<0.001, r 2 =0.96): 
F = 350.4(W) - 138,482, 
where F = total fecundity; and 
W = somatic weight in grams (Fig. 7B). 
Weight-based total fecundity estimates ranged from 
255,000 (1,122 g) to 2,339,000 (7,070 g) oocytes. 
Discussion 
Maturity 
Histological analyses demonstrated that the assign- 
ment of macroscopic maturity stages was not always 
reliable. Although it was confirmed through histol- 
