Document Type

Article

Department/Program

Virginia Institute of Marine Science

Publication Date

1987

Journal

Fishery Bulletin

Volume

85

Issue

2

First Page

269

Last Page

279

Abstract

Lengths at age and growth rates for the tiger shark, Galeocerdo cuvieri. in the northwestern Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico were estimated from bands formed seasonally in the vertebral centra. The tiger shark grows rapidly compared with many other shark species. Growth rates for Gulf of Mexico juveniles were faster than for Atlantic juveniles. This produced significantly different (P < 0.01) estimates of the parameters of von Bertalanffy curves for the two regional samples. With sexes combined, parameter estimates for the Gulf of Mexico sample were L"" = 388 cm TL. K "" 0.184. to = -1.13 years; for the Atlantic sample they were L"" = 440 cm TL, K = 0.107, to = -2.35 years. Males mature at approximately 310 cm TL, females at 315-320 cm TL, but the regional differences in juvenile growth rates result in different ages at maturity. In the Gulf of Mexico. males mature in 7 years. females in 8 years; in the Atlantic. males and females both mature in approximately 10 years. The largest male and female examined (381 cm TL) were 15 and 16 years of age.

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