Seasonal and age dependent variations in meat yield of abu mullet (Planiliza abu (Heckel, 1843)) from Orontes River

Abstract

Investigation on the seasonal and age dependent meat yield of Planiliza abu has been carried out on 299 specimens collected from Orontes River between April 2012 and March 2013. Analysis of meat yield was based on the calculation of the ratio between the body weight and the weight of organs or body parts e.g. head, fins, and internal organs. Average meat yield was found to be 65.51% and head weight was 16.54% of the body weight. Weight ratios of fin, internal organs and other parts including gonads of the fish to body weight found as 2.47%, 11.74% and 3.74%, respectively. Age dependent average meat yields have varied from 63.34% at age 0 to 70.68% at age IV. Therefore, it can be concluded that average meat yield (productivity) increases with the age. Seasonal productivity was minimum in winter (63.16±1.51%) and maximum in autumn (66.41±0.43%). Moreover, there were strong correlations between body weight and head weight, and the weight of internal organs, and meat yield, and correlations were determined as 0.9283, 0.8354 and 0.9668, respectively.