Age and growth of Monopterus albus Zuiew, 1793 (Synbranchidae)

Age and growth of Monopterus albus (Zuiew, 1787) in Lake Nanhu, Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, were studied from January to December 2007. A total of 418 samples were collected ranging from 18 to 86 cm total length (TL). Among these samples, ages of female were 1 ⁺ -5 ⁺ years while males were 3 ⁺ -9 ⁺ years as estimated by basihyal. The length-weight relationships and the von Bertalanffy growth curve were described for all individuals as: WT = (2 x 10⁻⁷) TL³.²³⁶⁶ and Lt = 104.1{1-e⁻⁰.¹⁰⁸ ⁽t ⁺ ¹.⁶²⁵⁾}. To the best knowledge of the authors, this study presents the first reference on the relationship between age and growth of this species for the management of fishery resources.