Length: weight relationship and relative condition factor of Indian anchovy Stolephorus indicus (van Hasselt, 1823) from Thoothukudi coastal waters

Abstract

Length – weight relationship and relative condition factor of Indian Anchovy Stolephorus indicus (van Hasselt, 1823) from Thoothukudi coastal waters was studied from September 2016 to July 2017. In present study the smallest size observed was 8.4 cm total length and 4.7 gm weight, the largest size was 15.3 cm TL and 28.13 gm weight. The value of growth constant a = 0.0167 and b = 2.7273. In the present study the b value was less than the ideal b (3) value which means the Stolephorus indicus shows the negative allometric growth pattern. The coefficient of determination of Stolephorus indicus was 0.9283, which indicates a significant relation between the length and weight of the species. The observation on condition factor and relative condition indicates that there no variation during the study period.