Abstract

Haifa grouper, Hyporthodus haifensis is a subtropical species widely distributed in the Eastern Atlantic, from Portugal to Angola. Also ıt is present in the southern part of the Mediterranean Sea from the coast to the south of Spain, along almost all the Mediterranean coast of North Africa to Lebanon, Israel and Turkey. The information available on biology and ecology of the Haifa grouper being harvested from the Iskenderun bay is very limited. Therefore, this study was carried out to determine to age dependent meat yield of Haifa grouper, Hyporthodus haifensis. Investigation on age dependent meat yield of Haifa grouper, Hyporthodus haifensis was carried out on 47specimens collected from Iskenderun Bay, Northern east Mediterranean Sea between November 2015- September 2016. Samples were provided from the TUBITAK project (214O575). Analysis of meat yield was based on the calculation of the ratio between the body weight and the weight of organs or body parts such as head, skin and internal organs. Average meat yield was found to be 59.39%, internal organs weight was 2.74% and head weight was 32.13% of the body weight. Weight ratios of fin and skin of the fish to body weight were found as 3.67% and 2.08% respectively. The highest rates of meat yield (71.20%) was observed at age 6. Age dependent average meat yields have varied from 52.65% at age 3 to 71.20% at age 6. Moreover, there were strong correlations between body weight and head weight (P<0.001); the body weight and weight of internal organs (P<0.001) and body weight and meat yield (P<0.001) correlations were determined as 0.981, 0.982 and 0.987, respectively.