Length–Weight Relationship and Relative Condition Factor of 15 Lutjanid Fish Species of the Gulf of Mannar, Southeast Coast of India

Meenatchisundaram, Sharumathi and Natarajan, Jayakumar and Ramulu, Durairaja and Muthupandi, Kalaiarasan and Ranjith, L and Jeyabalan, Joyson Paul and Chandravanshi, Sanjay and Kumar, Kishore and Sahu, Adyasha and Chandran, Sudhan (2025) Length–Weight Relationship and Relative Condition Factor of 15 Lutjanid Fish Species of the Gulf of Mannar, Southeast Coast of India. Thalassas: An International Journal of Marine Sciences, 41. ISSN 2366-1674

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Abstract

This study presents the length-weight relationship (LWR) and condition factors (Kn) of 15 lutjanid fish species (Family: Lutjanidae) collected from the major fish landing centres (Pamban fish landing centre and Thoothukudi fishing harbour) situated in the Gulf of Mannar, Southeast coast of India. A total of 2,785 specimens were sampled monthly from commercially operated trawl nets between June 2023 and May 2024. A new record of the length-weight relationship (LWR) for Lutjanus bengalensis, which was previously unavailable in FishBase, has been documented. Additionally, two new LWR records for Aprion virescens and Aphareus rutilans, which had not yet been reported along the Indian coast, have also been established. The values of the growth coefficient (b) for the 15 species varied greatly (P < 0.005) from 3 and ranged from 2.5954 (Pinjalo pinjalo) to 3.2119 (Lutjanus quinquelineatus). This indicates that most fish species exhibit allometric growth. The coefficient of determination (r2) values varied from 0.8513 (Pinjalo pinjalo) to 0.9985 (Lutjanus quinquelineatus). The linear regression analysis between length and weight was found to be highly significant (P < 0.001). Furthermore, relative condition factor (Kn) of these fish species were one or greater than one, with the exception of Lutjanus rivulatus (0.9544), showing that the environmental circumstances were favourable for fish growth. These parameters are crucial for evaluating the relative condition of populations, as well as for understanding their ecology, biology, fisheries, stock assessment and species management.

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