Length-Weight relationships of nine goatfish species (Teleostei: Mullidae) from the Persian Gulf and Oman Sea

Goatfishes (Teleostei, Mullidae) are a group of mainly coastal fishes that form an important part of food chains, and also have commercial value. In addition, they are valuable fishes in ecosystem monitoring and management programs because they are sensitive to human-induced activities such as fisheries and habitat modification. Mathematical models of fish growth provide an objective and practical method for description of growth parameters and estimation of fish weight at different time series. This study presents and describes length-weight relationships for nine goatfish species belonging to three genera (Mulloidichthys, Parupeneus and Upeneus) collected from the Persian Gulf and Oman Sea. The estimated parameter ˜b values ranged from The slope (b) of LWRs for all mullid species fell within the expected range of 2-4 varying from 2.370 for Parupeneus heptacanthus to 3.179 for Upeneus vittatus based on TL and from 2.391 for U. sundaicus to 3.804 for P. rubescens based on SL, and r^2 values ranged from 0.927 for Upeneus tragula to 0.992 for U. pori. All the LWRs were highly significant, with p 0.005.