Growth parameters and population structure of Aristeus antennatus (DECAPODA, PENAEIDAE) in the south Tyrrhenian Sea (SOUTHERN COAST OF ITALY).

The blue and red shrimp Aristeus antennatus (Risso, 1816) is one of the most important fisheryresources in the Mediterranean Sea. Monthly samplings of blue and red shrimp from June 2006 toMay 2007 were landed by the trawl fleet in two northwest Sicilian fishing harbours (San Vito LoCapo and Terrasini). The carapace length (CL) frequency distribution of females ranged between15.00 and 59.00 mm, whereas male CLs ranged between 17.00 and 34.00 mm. The estimatedparameters of the Von Bertalanffy growth function (VBGF) for San Vito lo Capo females and maleswere: CL∞ = 65 mm, K = 0.58 y−1 and CL∞ = 41 mm, K = 0.71 y−1, respectively; whilefor Terrasini females and males these were: CL∞ = 69 mm, K = 0.65 y−1 and CL∞ = 37 mm,K = 0.8 y−1, respectively. In this study, we update the information on stock structure and growthparameters of the blue and red shrimp in two northwest Sicilian fishing grounds and compare theseresults with other data recorded in the Mediterranean Basin.