Revised growth models are proposed for willowy flounder Tanakius kitaharai from western Sea of Japan, the population of which has been increasing in recent years. Annual rings of blind side sagittal otoliths were analysed and back-calculated length (TL : mm) equations derived from the otolith radii (R : mm)； TL=3.3+110・R (males), TL=3.3+113・R (females) and TL=3.3+112・R (males and females). Von Bertalanffy growth models, L_t=249{1-e^{-0.272(t+0.181)}} (males), L_t=418{1-e^{-0.168(t+0.432)}} (females) and L_t=482{1-e^{-0.130(t+0.368)}} (males and females) fitted well to age-length relationships, using the non-linear least squares method. Each length at a given age was markedly greater than that reported from the same region in the 1960’s.
otolith
Tanakius kitaharai
von Bertalanffy growth model
willowy flounder