Fishery management in the lower Mesopotamian regions: population structure of Hyporhamphus limbatus (Valenciennes, 1847)

Continuing isolation of populations and interbreeding can direct to morphometric dissimilarities among fish populations. The present study was performed with the aim to define the stock structure of Hyporhamphus limbatus on the basis of morphometric and meristic characters. In total, 300 H. limbatus specimens were collected from the three sampling locations of the lower reaches of Mesopotamia and its coastal area. In total, 9 morphometric and 4 meristic traits were examined. Canonical discriminant analysis showed significant differences in each of the morphometric measurements and meristic characters among the fish from different sampling locations. The results of this study can be employed in expressing stock-specific management policies for H. limbatus from areas studied in the south of Iraq.