Bulletin of the SFI 2 (156) 2002 - The sexual maturation of mackerel icefish (Champsocephalus gunnari L�nnberg, 1905) from different regions of the Antarctic

The sexual maturation of mackerel icefish (Champsocephalus gunnari Lönnberg, 1905) from different regions of the Antarctic
Bulletin of the Sea Fisheries Institute 2 (156) 2002, pp. 15-32

Józef Sosiński and Kordian Trella
Sea Fisheries Institute, Kołłątaja 1, 81-332 Gdynia, Poland

Key words: Antarctic, Champsocephalus gunnari, stock, sexual maturity

Abstract.
The results of biological analyses of Champsocephalus gunnari Lönnberg, 1905 conducted aboard Polish vessels from 1975 to 1993 were used to investigate the maturation process, initial sexual maturity and spawning maturation cycle among the different stocks of this species in the Atlantic and Indian Antarctic sectors.
The diversity of the maturation process revealed in this paper confirms the separateness of stocks which were previously distinguished on the basis of other biological factors.