Age, growth, and mortality rate of the yellow goosefish Lophius litulon (Jordan, 1902) in the Yellow Sea

With the decline in the most fisheries resources in the Yellow Sea, the yellow goosefish Lophius litulon has increased in commercial and ecological importance in recent years. We studied the length distribution, length-weight relationship, age composition, growth pattern, mortality, and exploitation rates of the yellow goosefish in the Yellow Sea. Total length (TL) of females and males ranged from 173 to 582 mm and 178 to 500 mm, respectively. The length-weight relationships were also estimated for females and males. Age classes from 2 to 4 years predominated in the samples. The von Bertalanffy growth function (VBGF), estimated based on non-linear least-squares methodology, showed significant differences between sexes. Females attained a greater estimated asymptotic total length (765 mm TL) compared to males (579 mm TL). The VBGF did not differ significantly between stocks of the northern Yellow Sea and the southern Yellow Sea. Estimated natural instantaneous mortality rate (M) ranged from 0.25/a to 0.33/a based on four age- and length-based methods. Total instantaneous mortality rate (Z) of total samples calculated by the age-based catch curve method was 0.591/a and the average fishing mortality (F) was 0.30/a. Estimated exploitation rate (E) was approximately 0.5, indicating that the population of L. litulon in the Yellow Sea may be sustainable. These results provide a reference for the present status of L. litulon and information for the management.