author(s)
Amtyaz Safi, M. Atiqullah Khan, M. Usman Ali Hashmi and M. Zaheer Khan

abstract
In the present study 391 fish samples (155 male and 236 female) of Pomadasys stridens of variable sizes ranging from 3.5- 106 g weight in male; 14-130g weight in female and 56- 198 mm in total length(TL) in male while 99-210 mm (TL) in female were sampled from Karachi coast during January 2001 to April 2002. The length-weight relationships (LWR) and condition factors of striped piggy fish were studied. The estimated length-weight relationships for 155 males and 236 females were: Male; Log Wt = -4.25 + 2.73 Log TL, Female; Log Wt = -4.46 + 2.82 Log TL, The low ‘K’ values at 130 - 139 mm TL group and onward in both sexes showed that both sexes mature at the same sizes. The correlation between condition factor ‘K’ and the total length were observed not to increase prominently with the length. The small fluctuations in either ‘K’ or ‘Kn’ values during the different months and at different length group intervals appeared to be not so significant which may be associated with physiological activities and building of fat prior to maturation.