Morphological characteristics and proximate analysis of the sardine (Sardina pilchardus Walbaum, 1792) in northern Aegean Sea (gulf of Kalloni, Lesvos)

Abstract

The unique hydrological and biological characteristics of Kalloni Bay (Panayotidis and Klaoudatos, 1997) could affect the morphological and chemical characteristics of economically important pelagic species, such as S. pilchardus. Aim of this preliminary study was to investigate the morphometric and proximate characteristics of S. pilchardus speciments caught in Kalloni Bay and to compare them with speciments from open sea areas around Lesvos Island during a five-month period (mid-May to mid-October 2017). There was a significant difference on both the length and the weight of the individuals and the homogeneity of the samples between the Kalloni Gulf and the open sea areas. Variations for both areas were evident among different morphological characteristics of the speciments and the constituents of the proximate analysis that were determined during the sampling season. The morphology of S. pilchardus in the Kalloni Gulf along with the condition indices that were calculated and the proximate characteristics that were found during the laboratory analysis indicate that the individuals might be of the same population but at a different maturity state. Further research of this species in both the Kalloni gulf and the open Aegean Sea is substantial due to the economic importance of S. pilchardus, especially in areas having a nursery role, and will provide further useful information on the possible effects of hydrological and biological characteristics in the Kalloni Gulf.