Parameterization of European perch Perca fluviatilis length-at-age data using stochastic Gompertz growth models.

Three stochastic versions of the Gompertz growth model were used to parameterize total length (L(T) )-at-age data for perch Perca fluviatilis, an important target species for commercial and recreational fishers and a food species for predatory fishes and aquatic birds. Each model addresses growth heterogeneity by incorporating random parameters from a specific positive distribution: Weibull, gamma or log-normal. The modelling outputs for each version of the model provide L(T) distributions for selected ages and percentiles of L(T) at age for both males and females. The results highlight the importance of using a stochastic approach and the logistic-like growth pattern for analysing growth data for P. fluviatilis in Curonian Lagoon (Lithuania). Outputs from this modelling can be extended to a stochastic analysis of fish cohort dynamics, incorporating all length-based biological relationships, and the selectivity-related interactions between fish cohorts and fishing gear.