Quelques aspects de l'âge et de la croissance de l'anchois Engraulis encrasicolus (Pisces, Engraulidae) le long du littoral de la Côte d'Ivoire

Some age and growth aspects of Engraulis encrasicolus (Pisces, Engraulidae) along the coast of Ivory Coast. Age and growth of Engraulis encrasicolus (Linneaus, 1758) were studied in eastern coast of Ivory coast from September 2004 to September 2005. Fishes were caught monthly using seines of beach and purse seines sliding. A sample of 1400 fishes were caught for studies. Standard-length (SL) was measured to the nearest mm and body weight (W) to the nearest 0.01 g. Groups age was established by frequency distribution from mode progression. Individual age was estimated from scales study method. The scales of anchovies are cycloid with very small size. May was choosen as new born month. In September, at a putative age of 5 months, E. encrasicolus presented a standard-length of 5.5±1.02 cm. Three age classes were obtained in relation of rings presence. The length-weight relationship indicates that length increases faster than weight (b= 2.5953