Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 29, 2026
Necropsy-based Wild Fish Health Assessment
Published on: September 11, 2018
Protocol for histology-anchored macroscopic staging of gonadal maturity in exploited fishes
Régis Santos1, Mariana Cruz2, Wendell Medeiros-Leal2
1University of the Azores, Institute of Marine Sciences - OKEANOS, Rua Professor Doutor Frederico Machado 4, 9901-140 Horta, Portugal; Department of Oceanography and Fisheries, Faculty of Sciences and Technology, University of the Azores, Rua Professor Doutor Frederico Machado 4, 9901-862 Horta, Portugal; CIBIO, Research Centre in Biodiversity and Genetic Resources, InBIO Associate Laboratory, BIOPOLIS Program in Genomics, Biodiversity and Land Planning, UNESCO Chair - Land Within Sea, Biodiversity and Sustainability in Atlantic Islands, University of the Azores, Rua da Mãe de Deus, 9500-321 Ponta Delgada, Portugal.
Abstract:
Here, we present a protocol to assign gonadal maturity stages in commercially exploited fishes using a histology-anchored workflow. We describe steps for recording field metadata, photographing gonads, fixing central gonadal tissue, and processing paraffin sections. We then detail procedures for staining sections with hematoxylin and eosin, diagnosing gametogenic features, and assigning stages using a common reproductive-phase framework with species- and sex-specific reference descriptors. This protocol standardizes documentation and decision logic rather than proposing a new maturity scale.
More Related Videos
09:49Use of a Battery of Chemical and Ecotoxicological Methods for the Assessment of the Efficacy of Wastewater Treatment Processes to Remove Estrogenic Potency
Published on: September 11, 2016
05:31Gonadectomy and Blood Sampling Procedures in the Small Size Teleost Model Japanese Medaka (Oryzias latipes)
Published on: December 11, 2020