Study of the relationship between fish size and otolith size in four demersal species from the south-eastern Yellow Sea

Relationships between fish size and otolith measures were analysed in four species from the south-eastern Yellow Sea: marbled flounder Pseudopleuronectes yokohamae (Günther, 1877), bastard halibut Paralichthys olivaceus (Temminck & Schlegel, 1846) (Pleuronectiformes), and Korean rockfish Sebastes schlegelii Hilgendorf, 1880, and greenling, Hexagrammos otakii Jordan & Starks, 1895 (Scorpaeniformes). The analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used to test the effect of the categorical factor sex in the fish weight and total length relationship. Significant difference in fish weight and total length relationship between males and females was highlighted in P. yokohamae only. The relationship between fish standard length and total length was described by means of a linear regression model, while the relationships between fish weight-total length, otolith length-fish total length, otolith weight-length, and otolith width-length were analysed by means of non-linear models.