Reproduction of Merluccius merluccius (Actinopterygii: Merlucciidae) from the northern Atlantic coasts of Morocco based on histological analysis of gonads

Chaimae El Bouzidi; Helmut Segner; Halima Oufdou; Meryem Benziane; Abberrahim Chiaar; Mohammed Bakkali; Mounir Hassani Zerrouk

doi:10.3989/scimar.05315.069

Authors

Chaimae El Bouzidi Research team in Biotechnology and biomolecular engineering, FSTT, Abdelmalek Essaadi University - Centre for Fish and Wildlife Health, Department of Infectious Diseases and Pathobiology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2962-184X
Helmut Segner Centre for Fish and Wildlife Health, Department of Infectious Diseases and Pathobiology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1783-1295
Halima Oufdou Applied Economics Laboratory, Mohammed V University, Rue Nations Unies https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7567-5457
Meryem Benziane Laboratoire de pèche, Centre régional de l’INRH de Tanger https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7590-5435
Abberrahim Chiaar Laboratoire Histopathologie/Parasitologie, Centre Spécialisé en Pathologie des Animaux Aquatiques, Centre régional de l’INRH de Tanger https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4589-4768
Mohammed Bakkali Research team in Biotechnology and biomolecular engineering, FSTT, Abdelmalek Essaadi University https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8141-5870
Mounir Hassani Zerrouk Research team in Biotechnology and biomolecular engineering, FSTT, Abdelmalek Essaadi University https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8711-9554

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.3989/scimar.05315.069

Keywords:

Merluccius merluccius, Atlantic, Morocco, histology, hermaphrodite, reproduction, gonad

Abstract

The hake (Merluccius merluccius) fishery occupies an important place in the Moroccan trawl fishery. Despite the ecological and commercial value of this species, the reproductive biology of European hake populations in Moroccan coastal waters has been little studied. Here, we describe the seasonal variations of gonad histology of hake collected from August 2017 to August 2018 along the northern Atlantic coast of Morocco. The histological changes were compared with macroscopical changes, and the body length at first maturity (L₅₀) was calculated. The results revealed differences between macroscopic and histological maturity staging of the gonads. The L₅₀ was estimated to be 34.7 cm for females and 28.6 cm for males (histology-based) and 30.6 cm for females and 26.8 cm for males (macroscopy-based). In addition, the observations of ovarian maturity indicated the presence of a protracted spawning season throughout the year with a peak around January and in midsummer.

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