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Fishery Bulletin 111(4) 
HSI 
Figure 4 
Dry weight of 100 hydrated oocytes as a function of (A) total length, (B) gutted weight, (C) age, (D) hepa- 
tosomatic index (HSI), and (E) relative condition factor (Kn) for the Patagonian stock of Argentine Hake 
(Merluccius hubbsi), which was sampled in waters off the province of Chubut in Argentina during the peak 
spawning season in 2010 and 2011. 
The hepatosomatic index was the maternal condi- 
tion measure that best correlated with fecundity in 
Argentine Hake in this study. Different authors have 
reported that the liver is the main deposit of lipids for 
gadoids and have considered this organ as the main 
source of energy for reproduction (Lambert and Du- 
til, 1997; Alonso-Fernandez, 2011). In addition, certain 
egg constituents, such as yolk proteins and egg coat 
substances, are synthesized in the liver (Brooks et al., 
1997). It has been suggested that lipids play a key role 
during the early life history of many species (Nocillado 
et al., 2000), serving as structural components of mem- 
branes and providing physical protection of organs, 
buoyancy, or nutrients for embryos (Wiegand, 1996). 
Lipids of oocytes are stored mainly as lipoproteins, 
which are the major components of oocyte yolk, or as 
oil droplets (Wiegand, 1996). In Atlantic Cod, it has 
been suggested that the HSI is a good index of repro- 
