Abstract
Fisheries biology of the catfish (Macrones gulio) in estuarine of Bengawan Solo River, Indonesia was examined. The samples were obtained monthly by gill net and hand line from March 1999 to February 2000. Maturity, food habit and growth of the fish were observed. The percentage of maturing and mature fish was higher (60-90%) from October to February. The gonad somatic index was also higher (0.5-1.3 for male and 5-9 for female) during these months which were estimated to be spawning season, with a peak in November. The dominant foods of the catfish were crustacean and detritus. Stomach Content index was higher from July to January and low from February to June. The index seems to relate to the reproduction activity both in male and female. Growth curve was expressed by the equation, Lt=190 (1-e-0.60(t+0.162)) for male and Lt=200 (1-e-0.55(t+0.176)) for female where Lt and t denote total length (mm) and the age (month) of the fish respectively.
