In this investigation, five different maturity phases (I-V) of gonads have been described based on the macroscopic study.
According to the monthly percentage composition of ovarian maturity phase (Fig.
all oocyte stage in ovary occurring simultaneously for all maturity phases, presence of hydrated oocytes and post ovulatory follicles, and continuous oocyte diameter distribution in actively spawning females) which indicate indirectly multiple batch spawning and indeterminate fecundity (Grande et al.
Microscopic characterization of gonad development was obtained from the grading key for sexual maturity phases for the Brazilian snapper proposed by Fernandes et al.
In the peculiar case of species of Lophius, studies on fecundity are scarce because of the difficulty of 1) acquisition of suitably mature individuals in the maturity phases of spawning capable or actively spawning and 2) the use of a proper method for fecundity estimation, which is especially complicated because of the morphological features of the gonads of these species.
Of the total number of specimens, 3562 fish had gonads removed and their sex was determined, and they were assigned macroscopically to a gonadal stage on the basis of a scale with 5 maturity phases that were described in previous studies: immature (phase I), developing or regenerating (phase II), spawning capable (phase III), actively spawning (phase IV), and regressing (phase V) (Afonso-Dias and Hislop, 1996; Brown-Peterson et al.
The first transition is between introduction and maturity phases and the second--between maturity and the product's end-of-life.
For example, for the maturity phase in case of determined demand changing boundaries it is possible to apply cyclic planning (Campbell and Mabert 1991), whereas for the introduction and decline phase an individual planning is usually employed.
Investing in a new product with a negative net present value in the pioneering phase may allow the firm to enter a market that will be profitable in the growth and
maturity phases.
Six
maturity phases were established for females as follow: I-immature, II-developing, III-spawning capable, IV-actively spawning, V-regressing, VI-recovering.
GSI values significantly varied among
maturity phases (ANOVA, [F.
