Fish length-weight relationships in the Weddell Sea and Bransfield Strait

Length-weight relationships are provided for 49 Antarctic fishes from 9 families. The fish were from three research cruises of 1996, 1998 and 2000 to the Weddell Sea and Antarctic Peninsula. Samples were collected by benthopelagic net, Agassiz trawl and bottom trawl at depths of 200–2,300 m. The exponent b in the length-weight relationship W=aLb ranged from 2.53 to 4.05. With a mean of 3.33, 50% of the values ranged between 3.157 and 3.480. In 31 species, the parameters were determined for each sex. For 64.5% of species, b was higher in females than in males. Exceptions were the Channichthyidae where b for six species was higher for males.