578 
Fishery Bulletin 96(3), 1 998 
surements. Stepwise linear regressions indicated 
that body depth, caudal peduncle depth, and 
cleithrum length were the most consistent predic- 
tors of original fish weight and were included in the 
best set of predictor variables for 8, 9, and 8 species, 
respectively (Table 6). Pectoral-fin length was in- 
cluded in the best set of predictor variables for 5 spe- 
cies, whereas opercle length was included for 3 spe- 
cies. Dentary length and eye diameter appeared to 
be the least consistent predictors of fish weight and 
were included in the best set of predictor variables 
for 1 and 0 of the species, respectively. Lastly, mea- 
surements of total and fork length were significantly 
related to total weight for each species (P<0.0001) with 
