Updated Life History Traits of Narrow‐Barred Spanish Mackerel, <i>Scomberomorus commerson</i> (Lacépède, 1800) of UAE Waters in the Southeastern Arabian Peninsula

ABSTRACT The narrow‐barred Spanish mackerel, Scomberomorus commerson , is an economically important fish species in the Arabian Peninsula. This study aims to revisiting its life history traits by data collected in a 15‐month monitoring program (January 2019–May 2020) in UAE waters. Fork length ranged from 30.5 to 132 cm. Growth parameters of k were 0.14 and 0.15, L inf was 128.9 and 135.4 cm, and t 0 was −2.4 and −2.3 for males and females, respectively. The L m 50 were 78.7 and 69.7 cm FL, and Am 50 were 2.0 and 1.8 years for females and males, respectively. Gonadosomatic index showed that the spawning season had started in March and ended in June with a clear peak in April. Mortality estimates were 0.69 year −1 for total mortality, 0.43 year −1 for fishing mortality, and 0.26 year −1 for natural mortality. The mean size and age at first capture were 43.4 cm FL and 1.8 years, respectively. The spawning biomass ratio was estimated at 20.5%. In the study period of 2019–2020, high exploitation rate especially on juvenile fish capture was recommended to reduce for long‐term sustainability.