Age structure, growth and mortality of the striped goby, Gobius vittatus (Gobiidae) in the northern Adriatic Sea

The striped goby. Gobius vittatus Vinciguerra, 1883 is a Mediterranean gobiid species considered to be rare with very little data on its biology and ecology. A sample of 704 specimens of G. vittatus was collected by SCUBA diving at three locations in the northern Adriatic Sea (Kvarner area) from April 2001 to March 2002. The present paper provides the first information on age Structure, lifespan, growth and mortality of G. vittatus. The size range of individuals was between 19.2 and 54.0 mm. The maximum estimated age was 4 and 3 years for females and males respectively. The total mortality rate (Z) was estimated to be from 0.94 to 1.08 for females and from 0.99 to 1.43 for males. The von Bertalanffy growth parameters estimated from the mean monthly age-length data were significantly different between sexes (females: L-infinity= 50.96, K = 1.02 and t(0) = -0.47; males: L-x= 50.13, K = 1.18 and t(0) = -0.42).