Life-history characteristics of the eastern shovelnose ray,

The eastern shovelnose ray (Aptychotrema rostrata) is a medium-sized coastal batoid endemic to the coast of Australia. It most common elasmobranch incidentally caught in Queensland east otter trawl fishery, Australia’s largest penaeid-trawl fishery. Despite this, age and growth studies on this species are lacking. present study estimated parameters age-at-maturity for A. rostrata basis sampling conducted southern Queensland, This showed that exhibits slow late maturity, which life-history strategies among elasmobranchs. Length-at-age data were analysed within Bayesian framework von Bertalanffy function (VBGF) best described these data. as L0 = 193 mm TL, k 0.08 year–1 L∞ 924 TL. Age-at-maturity was found be 13.3 years 10.0 females males respectively. under-sampling larger, older individuals overcome by using informative priors, reducing bias maturity estimates. As such, results can used derive estimates natural mortality species.