Age and growth estimates of the Kwangtung skate Dipturus kwangtungensis in the waters of northern Taiwan

The age and growth of Kwangtung skate, Dipturus kwangtungensis, in the waters off northern Taiwan were estimated from 422 specimens collected between July 2006 and July 2008 at the Tashi fishing market in north-eastern Taiwan. The sexes-combined relationship between total length (TL) and centrum diameter (D) was estimated as follows: TL = 14.11D0.888 (N = 411, r2 = 0.94, P < 0.001). Growth band pairs (comprised of translucent and opaque bands) in vertebrae were determined to form once annually, based on the centrum edge analysis. Up to 14 band pairs were found for both sexes. The von Bertalanffy growth function (VBGF), two-parameter VBGF, the Robertson function, and the Gompertz function were used to fit the observed length-at-age data. The Akaike information criterion corrected indicated that the Gompertz function best fit the observed length at age data. Sex-specific growth functions were not significantly different; the sexes-combined growth parameters were estimated as follows: asymptotic length (L∞) = 96.7 cm TL, growth coefficient (kG) = 0.144 year−1 and constant (t0) = 5.45 year (N = 364, P < 0.01).