DOES COVARIATION BETWEEN GROWTH AND REPRODUCTION COMPROMISE THE USE OF AN ALTERNATIVE SIZE LIMIT FOR THE BLACKLIP ABALONE, HALIOTIS-RUBRA, IN NSW, AUSTRALIA

The relationship between growth and reproduction of the blacklip abalo ne, Haliotis rubra, was estimated from four sites in New South Wales, Australia. Immature abalone ranged in weight up to 177 g, but there wa s no consistent difference in the weight at which 50% of individuals w ere mature among populations where growth was fast or slow. At sites w here they grew slowly, some individuals remained immature until larger weights (177 g) than at sites when they grew quickly (134 g). Fecundi ty and variation in fecundity among individuals increased rapidly with size, but there was little, if any, difference among populations that grew at different rates. Large abalone (i.e. > 250 g) had the potenti al to be highly fecund and were more abundant at sites where individua ls grew quickly. These observations suggest the use of a minimum width limit in the NSW abalone fishery will not be compromised by covariati on between the growth and reproduction of individuals. (C) 1997 Elsevi er Science B.V.