Age and growth of the common sole, Solea solea from the Egyptian Mediterranean Coast of Alexandria

The study of the age and growth of individuals in a population is very important for understanding the general biology of the species and in particular the population dynamics. Age and growth of the common sole, Solea solea from Alexandria were studied based on the whole otolith readings using a non-linear back-calculation method during two fishing seasons (2011-2013). A total of 1558 S. solea (11.9 – 34.1 cm total length) were aged and the maximum life span was 4 years for both sexes. It was found that the age group one was the most frequent age group in the catch forming 65.8% of the total sampled specimens for male and female. The von Bertalanffy growth parameters obtained by using the back-calculated lengths were L∞ = 34.77 cm; K= 0.55 year^−1 and t0 = 0.07 years for males and L∞ = 36.24 cm; K= 0.63 year^−1 and t0 = -0.01 years for females. The results showed that the stock of S. solea needed to assess in the wise management of this potential fishery. It is also clear that S. solea in Alexandria was considered one of the overfished species with a greater need for conservation.