This paper examines sexual maturity of the female lesser spotted dogfish Scyliorhinus canicula (L., 1758) in the Cantabrian Sea (north of Spain). Analyses made using data collected from commercial trawlers during 1994 and 1995 showed that females reach sexual maturity at a length of 54.2 cm, and the mean egg-laying size is 56.4 ± 0.94 cm. At least one in six adult female dogfish carried egg-capsules during the study period. Sex-ratio by depth strata indicates a larger proportion of females in deeper waters. Mature and spawning females were found at depths ranging from 100 m to more than 400 m, with their proportion being larger in the deeper strata. |