Age, growth and longevity of the gray triggerfish, Balistes capriscus (Gmelin, 1788), from the Southeastern Brazilian Coast

Age, growth and longevity of gray triggerfish Balistes capriscus from the coast near São Paulo were estimated from first dorsal spine sections of 1,800 fish. The translucent zone was formed during winter (June, July and August) and the reproductive period (December, January, February). The von Bertalanffy growth equations were: FL = 514.9 [1 - e -0.2625 (t + 0.0391)] for males, and FL = 504.6 [1 - e-0.2748 (t -0.0304)] for females. The longevity estimated was 11 years old for males and females. The instantaneous mortality rates estimated were 0.26 for males and 0.27 for females. The weight-length relationships for both sexes of gray triggerfish together were Wt = 0.000004 FL3.299.