von Bertalanffy growth model in a random environment

The well-known von Bertalanffy growth model for describing age-length relat ionship is formulated in a randomly fluctuating environment. The fluctuatio ns in the system are assumed to be described by a Gaussian white noise stoc hastic process. The resulting model, in terms of a stochastic differential equation, is solved analytically. It is shown that the probability density function of length of a fish is a Gaussian stochastic process. Finally, as an illustration, the methodology is applied to a set of pearl oyster (Pinct ada fucata (Gould)) data.