Age and growth of common bream, Abramis brama (L.), caught at Hammam Debagh Reservoir (Guelma, northeast Algeria)

Mohamed Guettaf; Mounira Rachedi; Yassine Gueroui; Aissam Bousbia; Mohamed Amine Chelaghmia; Ammar Maoui

doi:10.2478/aopf-2019-0017

Mohamed Guettaf
Mounira Rachedi
Yassine Gueroui
Aissam Bousbia
Mohamed Amine Chelaghmia
Ammar Maoui

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/aopf-2019-0017

Keywords: Common bream, age, reservoir, growth, scale

Abstract

This study was conducted in Hammam Debagh Reservoir located in northeastern Algeria, which was first the subject of fish farming tests in 2001. The species tested included Chinese carp, royal carp, common carp, pikeperch, and common bream. The present work aimed to determine the age and growth of one of the most frequently caught species in the reservoir, common bream, Abramis brama. This information is essential to the knowledge of fish biology, and thereby to solving many of the problems of fish research and development. A sample of 100 common bream, A. brama, was caught with gillnets over a period of six months from December 2017 to May 2018. The results obtained fit well with the growth model and were similar to those published regarding other environments. Scales from a sample of 50 fish were read under an optical microscope, which permitted identifying five age groups. The value of the overall sex ratio (4.88) revealed a strong imbalance in favor of males throughout the study period. The relationship linking length-weight is of the minor allometry type with b < 3.