THE REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY OF THE POUTING TRISOPTERUS LUSCUS FROM THE ATLANTIC COAST OF MOROCCO

The reproductive biology of the pouting, Trisopterus luscus, is not well known in the Moroccan coastal area and this work reports on a two-year study of this species from January 2018 to December 2019. A total of 2210 sampled specimens were examined, of which 1162 were males (52.57%) and 1048 females (47.42%), the males significantly outnumbering the females according to the chi-square test. Monthly monitoring of the gonado-somatic index (GSI) and macroscopic and microscopic gonad observations showed that T. luscus was reproductively active throughout the year with maximum peaks during January-February 2018 and March-April 2019. The condition index (K) also peaked in these two months. Changes in the reproductive characteristics of this sampled population of T. luscus are discussed in relation to fish size and season and to fecundity.