Growth and mortality of the fish Citharichthys xanthostigma (Pleuronectiformes: Paralichthyidae) off the Western coast of Baja California, México.

Longfin sanddab (Citharichthys xanthostigma) represents a very important fishery resource in Southern and Baja California but are not very well known. The purpose of this study is to provide information on the growth and mortality of longfin sanddab population in the Mexican Pacific Ocean at Baja California, México. Data on growth were obtained for longfin sanddab collected with otter trawls during six cruises off the Western coast of Baja California. A total of 1017 longfin sanddab were caught over the sampling period, and from 860 specimens, the male to female ratio was 1:1.8. The relationship between total weight (W) and standard length (SL) is described: W=0.00000743 SL(3.196) for females and W=0.00000764 SL(3.193) for males. Age groups were estimated from length frequency data, and von Bertalanffy annual growth parameters for all fish data combined were the following: L infinity=289.2 mm SL, k=0.20, t0=-0.73; for males, they were L infinity=265.9 mm SL, k=0.21, t0=-0.68, and for females, L infinity=293.6 mm SL, k=0.23, t0=-0.35. Longfin sanddab caught during this study reached a maximum age of 10 years, and at that age, males attained smaller sizes than females. The age groups had a total mortality (Z) rate of 0.82 year(-1), a fishing mortality (F) of 0.52 year(-1), and a natural mortality (M) of 0.3 year(-1). Although the longfin sanddab is not a target species of commercial fisheries, it suffers high mortality as part of the bycatch in the shrimp fishery.