Life history traits and tactics of commercially important Namibian shallow-water hake, Merluccius capensis, were investigated in relation to their environment. A time series of length-frequency distributions (LFDs) from otoliths collected from fur seal scat samples was used to identify cohorts and calculate the approximate hatchdates and growth rates of young M. capensis from 1994 to 2009. Monthly otolith samples of five of these cohorts (1996, 1998, 2002, 2005 and 2006) were used to evaluate the translucent zone periodicity over the first 21 months of their life. Additionally, LFDs from research surveys and commercial samples were used to calculate growth rates for M. capensis up to 65 cm total length (TL), and to further validate the translucent zone formation of three of the five cohorts (1996, 1998 and 2002) on fish up to 3.5 years old.

Includes bibliographical references.