Abstract

ARAGON-NORIEGA, Eugenio Alberto. Size at maturity of the Cortes geoduck, Panopea globosa , in two locations of the Gulf of California. Hidrobiológica [online]. 2015, vol.25, n.2, pp.257-263. ISSN 0188-8897.

This paper describes the size at maturity of the Cortes geoduck Panopea globosa in the Gulf of California. The legal geoduck size in Mexican fishery is 130 mm shell length (SL), which was set without knowing key biological aspects of this species in Mexico. Geoducks were collected in two locations on the Gulf of California, in the sub-tidal zone at a depth of 10 to 25 m in January 2013. Size at 50% maturity was 88.75 mm and 89.37 mm SL in each site, respectively. The analyses of the residual sum of squares showed both curves were not significantly different (F0.543; p < 0.5881). This study shows that 130 mm, considered the legal size, is much larger than necessary if the size at maturity was the constraining requirement for fishing this species.

Keywords : Cortes geoduck; Gulf of California; minimum legal size; Panopea globosa; size at maturity.

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