Growth of horse mackerel populations in the western parts of the Black, Marmara, and Aegean seas

Abstract This study estimated the growth of horse mackerel, Trachurus mediterraneus (Steindachner), populations from the western parts of the Black, Marmara, and Aegean seas. Dependencies of individual daily weight gain at age were determined. The calculations showed that in the area studied the highest absolute weight gain was 45.4 mg day −1 for fish at the age of 2.46 years from Zonguldak (Black Sea). The relative annual increase in the population biomass of T. mediterraneus inhabiting different areas of the Black, Marmara and Aegean seas was determined. It was revealed that the annual relative increase in the biomass of horse mackerel caught in the Black Sea exceeded that in the Marmara and Aegean seas. At the same time, the highest relative annual biomass increase (94.8%) was observed in populations from the Varna-Bourgas region and in the coastal waters of Sevastopol (70.9%) in the Black Sea.