Estimation of growth parameters in a wild population of lion-paw scallop (Nodipecten subnodosus ) in Bahia de Los Angeles, Baja California, Mexico

The lion-paw scallop Nodipecten subnodosus is a commercially important resource in the northwest of Mexico; however few studies evaluate its growth. Length of shell was used to estimate individual growth parameters of the lion-paw scallop from a wild population. Monthly samplings were performed from January to December 2006 in Bahia de Los Angeles on the western coast of the Gulf of California, Mexico. Morphometric relationships between total length, height, total weight, and mass weight were estimated. The number of cohorts was determined monthly using the multinomial technique based on a likelihood function. The cohort that was best represented over time was used to fit the stationary growth model of von Bertalanffy. The results indicated that this species presents negative allometric growth and showed high correlation among different morphometric measures (R2 > 0.88). Length frequency distributions showed two cohorts in each sample, except from August to November when there were up to three cohorts, with greater variance in those of intermediate sizes. The growth parameters were: L∞ = 19.06 cm, k = 0.47 year-1, t0 =-0.19 years, C = 0.38, ts = 0.37. Due to fluctuations in the growth of the species, assessments should be performed based on age-structured models to support fishery management measures for this species.