Age, growth and maturity of jumbo squid (Dosidicus gigas d'orbigny, 1835) off the Western Coast of the baja California peninsula

Although jumbo squid (Dosidicus gigas) live off the western coast of Baja California, México, biological information for the species from this area is scarce.We processed the statoliths of 191 squid (144 females and 47 males) caught off western Baja California during 2004. The oldest male was 391 days old (mature at 690 mm dorsal mantle length,ML) and the oldest female was 433 days old (mature at 700 mm ML). Birth dates for both sexes were concentrated in January, indicative of a reproductive peak. Jumbo squid growth was best described by the logistic model. The largest females were larger (100 mm ML) and lived longer (1.4 months) than the largest males.The maximum daily growth rate in females was 2.09 mm per day (at 220 days; 407.6 mm ML) and in males was 2.1 mm per day (at 200 days; 365.9 mm ML). Finally,we conclude that squid from the Gulf of California grow faster than squid from off the western coast of Baja California.