Growth and hatching dates of juvenile pacific sardine Sardinops caeruleus in the Gulf of California

The otolith microstructure of juvenile Pacific sardine, Sardinops caeruleus , was examined to estimate age, growth, and back-calculated hatching-date d istributions. Hatching-date distributions were corrected to mortality. Juve niles were collected from the Golf of California during February 1995, Janu ary-February and June 1996. Estimated ages of juveniles ranged from 43 to 1 58 days (26-105 mm SL). A Gompertz growth model provided a good description (r(2)=0.77) of the length-at-age relationship. The maximum calculated dail y growth rate was 0.71 mm per day for 74-day-old fish. The average growth r ate up to 160-days-old was 0.64 mm per day. The back-calculated hatching-da te distributions showed that spawning occurs from October to April. The ave rage birthdate distributions correspond to the beginning of the productivit y cycle and consequently the growth was not limited by feeding conditions d uring 1995 and 1996. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.