Morphological screening of carp Cyprinus carpio: relationship between morphology and fillet yield

¹ Laboratoire de physiologie du développement, Institut Jacques-Monod, CNRS et universités Paris-6 et Paris-7, 2, place Jussieu 75251 Paris France
² Laboratoire d'ichtyologie, Muséum national d'histoire naturelle, 43, rue Cuvier 75005 Paris France
³ Association pour le développement de l'aquaculture et de la pêche en Rhône-Alpes (ADAPRA), 3 bis, quai Chauveau 69336 Lyon cedex 09 France
⁴ Laboratoire d'anatomie comparée, UMR CNRS 8570, université Paris-7, 2, place Jussieu 75221 Paris cedex 5 France

Received: 3 August 1998
Accepted: 8 December 1998

Abstract

We propose a simple method to quantify the morphology of 2-3-year-old carps (Cyprinus carpio) which is related to their fillet yield. This method is based on the automated image analysis of the lateral projection of the fish (mask). Seven morphological measurements specifically related to fillet yield of carps were defined. The comparison between this method and the conventional quantification of fish shape, based on measurements of skeletal landmarks, increases the significance of this fitting. From the analysis of the morphometric data, we propose a profitable carp morphotype which is defined by four angles and two distances which quantify the shape of the head and the position of the caudal peduncle, respectively. The main characteristic of this morphotype is the absence of a large dorsal development, and the ventral position of the caudal peduncle.