Studies on the reproductive potential of Schizopyge niger (Heckel, 1838) from Kashmir

Abstract

Fecundity of fish is one of the important components of fishery biology as it has direct bearing on fish production, stock recruitment and stock management. The present investigation was carried out to estimate the fecundity of one of the most important indigenous fish of Kashmir, Schizopyge niger, locally called as ‘Ael Gad’. The results showed that absolute fecundity of the fish varied from 3559 to 15712 ova, while relative fecundity (per gram of body weight) ranged from 30.52 to 63.45 ova. The average absolute fecundity recorded was 7698.4 ova whereas the average relative fecundity was 43.85 ova per gram body weight. Fecundity was found to have a strong correlation with total weight (R2=0.6375), total length (R2=0.5379), ovary weight (R2=0.5804), while low correlation was observed with ovary length (R2=0.2880).