POPULATION STRUCTURE OF GRENADIER FISH COELORINCHUS CAELORHINCUS IN DEEP WATERS OF THE COLOMBIAN CARIBBEAN COAST

ABSTRACT The objective of the study is to describe the patterns of spatial distribution and size structure of Coelorinchus caelorhincus in deep-sea waters of Colombian Caribbean. The samples were collected with trawling in depths between 200 and 550 m. Statistically significant differences in the sizes of the sexes were found, indicating sexual dimorphism. The length structure by depth strata showed a size increase with depth for both females and males. The length at sexual maturity in females was 17.238 cm TL. The spatial distribution indicates that in the northeastern area the higher aggregations were off the coast of the Magdalena River, off Santa Marta and Riohacha cities. In the southwestern area the higher aggregations were towards the northern part of the Urabá Gulf.