Age and Growth of Spiny Dogfish Squalus acanthias (Squalidae: Chondrichthyes) in the North Aegean Sea

Male and female spiny dogfish Squalus acanthias were collected in the North Aegean Sea from Saros Bay between February 2005 and September 2008. Squalus acanthias ranged from 17.1 to 121.6 cm in total length. Age was estimated using the second dorsal spine of 345 spiny dogfish. The coefficent of variation estimated value was 11.1%. Both male and female spiny dogfish readhed 7 years of age. Estimates of the von Bertalanffy growth parameters suggest that females attain a larger asymptotic TL (L-infinity=101.21 cm) than males do (L-infinity=72.85 cm) and grow more slowly (K=0.15 y(-1) and 0.27 y(-1), respectively). A relationship was determined between the age of spiny dogfish and spine size: their spine length and spine base length (r(s)=0.625), and their spine base width (r(s)=0.611).