Morphometric analysis and meat yield of Mytelidae caught in the state of Sergipe

Abstract

Two species of Mytella occur in the state of Sergipe, M. charruana and M. bicolor. Both of them are exploited but in an unknown proportion.  One of the first steps towards the proper assessment of the importance of each species for the local economy is to estimate their meat yield. Thus, this study was carried out with the objective of estimating the meat yield and the morphometric relationships for each of the exploited species. Monthly samples of about 2 kg were collected for each species from April to June 2014. The estimated relationships between shell width (SW) and length (SL) for M. charruana and M. bicolor were SW = 0.3391 SL + 3.7965 e SW = 0.3934 SL + 5.1308, respectively. The relationships between shell height (SH) and length (SL) were SH = 0.3546 SL – 1.9146 and SH = 0.2977 SL + 1.1267, respectively. Finally, the relationships between total weight (TW) and shell length (SL) were TW = 0.0004 SL^2.3976 and TW = 8E-05 SL^2.8437, respectively. In all relationships, a statistically significant difference was observed between the two species studied, with a tendency towards negative allometry. The mean in natura meat yield for M. charruana and M. bicolor were 50.3 and 33.2%, respectively. Thus, in order to obtain 1 kg of meat (‘catado’), about 2 kg and 3 kg of whole specimens (meat and shell) of M. charruana and M. bicolor are required, respectively.