Spatial variation in growth of the green tiger prawn (Penaeus semisulcatus) along the coastal waters of Kuwait, eastern Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Qatar

Shrimp (Penaeus semisulcatus) length-frequency data collected from the coastal waters of Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Qatar during a 23-month study from 1999 to 2001 were analyzed to estimate parameters of von Bertalanffy growth equation. All growth curves show a strong seasonal oscillation and a difference in size between males and females. The estimates of 1_∞ exhibit a southward decreasing trend with increasing temperature and salinity. A single variable of annual mean temperature explains 94 and 81% of the variations in 1_∞ for males and females, respectively. Likelihood ratio tests compared growth parameters among survey areas. A significant difference in growth was found between Kuwait and Kufji, and between Manifa and Dareen. Based on these results, we conclude that three separate populations of P. semisulcatus are present in the western Arabian Gulf: one in Kuwait, one in Kufji and Manifa, Saudi Arabia, and a third occupying Dareen, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Qatar waters. Countries sharing unit stocks should implement a cooperative approach to the management of each.