FECUNDITY AND MATURATION OF SOUTH CASPIAN SPIRLIN, ALBURNOIDES SP&

A total of 48 female spirlins Alburnoides sp. from the Kesselian stream (South Caspian Sea basin, northern Iran) were examined during a period from July 2008 to June 2009 to obtain data on fecundity, and to determine the spawning season of this carp. The mean absolute fecundity of females spirlin was 1722.92 (653.88) eggs. The fecundity has positive correlation with the size of the female. The mean of the monthly GSI index and ova diameters shows that spirlin spawn once in a year during the months of June-July. GSI of 6.88 was considered as the indicator of sexual maturity for the females. The highest peak of relative condition factor (Kn) was 0.126 during the month of June. The stages of gonads maturation of Caspian spirlin have been classified as: I, immature; II, early developing; III, late developing; IV, mature; V, ripe (spawning)