LIFE-HISTORY AND FISHERY OF THE COMMON DENTEX (DENTEX DENTEX) IN MALLORCA (BALEARIC-ISLANDS, WESTERN MEDITERRANEAN)

Age, growth, mortality, maturity and diet were analysed for 210 common dentex from 17 to 83 cm TL collected off the island of Mallorca from 1993 to 1995. The length composition by sex showed no differences betw een females and males. The length-weight relationship was identical fo r both sexes: W = 0.011 TL3.06. Ag, at 50% maturity was reached betwee n 2 and 4 years old. The reproductive period was centred in the second quarter of the year. Ages were estimated from whole sagittal otoliths . Marginal-increment analysis showed that a single annuli formed each year during autumn-winter. Common dentex ages ranged from 0 to 28 year s, The von Bertalanffy growth equation for males was TL = 844(1-e((-0. 1(t+2.854)) and for females was TL = 856(1-e((-0.1(t+2.874)). The esti mate of the instantaneous rate of total mortality (Z) was 0.24. Empiri cally derived estimates of natural mortality were similar to total mor tality estimates suggesting that fishing mortality is low. (C) 1997 El sevier Science B.V.