The results of otolithometry of the European flounder of the river Mezen

Otolithometry is one of the methods of the study of otoliths, which became widespread in recent decades. Otolithometry allows, by otoliths taken directly at collection of the material, to determine many important parameters of fish populations, including spatial structure, trophic relations of the ecosystem. The technique has been tested on many fish species, including flounder. The results of processing four indicators of otoliths of the river flounder Platichthys flesus (Linnaeus, 1758) from the river Mezen flowing into the Mezen Bay of the White Sea: length, width, weight and thickness, are presented. It is revealed that the length, width and mass of otoliths vary in direct proportion to the length of fish body and do not depend on sex, otoliths mass has power dependence. Correlation coefficients between otoliths parameters and the length, weight and age of fish were calculated, their values were higher in females in almost all calculations. In both sexes, otolith mass is most correlated with body length and age.