Grenadiers of the World Oceans: Biology, Stock Assessment, and Fisheries

Distribution and Relative Abundance of Main Grenadiers (Macrouridae, Gadiformes) from Mozambique

Juan Gil, Ignacio Sobrino, Jorge Baro, José González, Paula Santana Afonso, and Eduardo Balguerias

doi: https://doi.org/10.47886/9781934874004.ch8

Abstract.—The objective of this study is to describe the distribution patterns of abundance and biomass, on a geographic and bathymetric basis, of the main macrourid species of Mozambique waters. Catch data from a demersal trawl survey (MOZAMBIQUE 07) were analyzed. The survey covered the continental shelf and upper-middle slope from 17°00’S to 26°50’S and from 100–700 m depth. Fourteen macrourid species were collected from 200 m and deeper. The most abundant species and the highest in biomass were Coelorinchus braueri, C. trunovi, C. denticulatus, Ventrifossa nasuta, and Malacocephalus laevis. Only those five species were analyzed in detail. The occurrence and yields by geographic and bathymetric range of these main species seem to reveal the existence of some species-specific preference for determinate depth ranges and/or geographic areas. Preanal length-weight relationships were estimated for C. braueri, C. trunovi, and V. nasuta: a= 0.00071; 0.00020; 0.00080; b= 2.50; 2.80; 2.76 and r²= 0.93; 0.97; 0.78, respectively.