Objectives:

The objective of this research is to describe for first time the patterns of size structure, morphometric relationships, spatial and bathymetric distribution of the dwarf dory deep-sea fish (Z. hololepis) in the Colombian Caribbean Sea.

Scope:

Zenion hololepis is reported as one of dominant teleost species with a frequency of occurrence of 57.41%, which makes this species of great ecological importance.

Methodology:

Samples were collected by trawling in depths between 200 and 550 m. The total length, sex and number of individuals Z. hololepis from each station were recorded. The morphometric relationships Total length (TL) vs Standard length (SL), TL vs Body height (BH), TL vs Eye diameter (ED) and TL vs Head length (HL) were performed. Geostatistical analyses were used to describe the spatial structure of the Z. hololepis distribution.

Main results:

The size of Z. hololepis females ranged between 58.06 and 121.75 mm total length (mean 80.97 mm, ±13.12) and for males between 57.42 and 114.77 mm TL (mean 77.77 mm, ±13.82). The size structure for female and male showed an increase with depth. In females and males, the growth was negative allometric. The bulk of the biomass was distributed between Cartagena and Morrosquillo Gulf. In the northern zone this species revealed high abundances between Santa Marta and Riohacha. This species was distributed between 230 and 443 m, but higher biomass was found between 320 and 370 m.

Conclusions:

Further research to know the parameters of life cycle of deep-sea fish in the Colombian Caribbean Sea such as growth, reproduction, recruitment, mortality, areas and seasons of spawning and nursery areas is required. A highly precautionary approach on these deep-sea species is necessary due to their vulnerability to exploitation.

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