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Samples of 525 Scorpaena porcus (Linnaeus, 1758) were collected from the southeastern Black Sea between January 2002 and May 2003 for information on age, growth, length–weight relationships and stomach contents. Total length of sampled fish ranged from 4.6 to 22.9 cm and total weight from 1.3 to 220 g. The sex ratio (1 : 1.61) was biased toward females (P < 0.05). Positive allometric growth was determined in the collected samples. The length–weight relationship for all individuals was described by the parameters a = 0.0149 and b = 3.09, with r2 = 0.99. The sample was composed of five age-classes (0–7 years). Three growth models were used to identify the growth characteristics: von Bertalanffy, ; logistic, ; and Schnute and Richards, . Among these, the Schnute and Richards model was best fitted to the data as The diet was composed of Carcinus mediterraneus (18.2%), Crangon crangon (12.1%), unidentified crab species (10.6%), Gobius sp. (4.6%), Palaemon sp. (4.5%), Macropipus sp. (4.5%), Engraulis encrasicholus (1.5%), Gastropoda (1.5%), and unidentified remains (34.9%). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Data on the effect of physiological, ecological, and anthropogenic factors on the concentration of nitrosamines in the tissues of bottom-dwelling fish—Scorpaena porcus L. and Mesogobius batrachocephalus Pallas—inhabiting two Black Sea bays with different anthropogenic load are presented. Seasonal dynamics in the concentration of nitrosamines in fish tissues, manifesting itself in its decrease in summer and increase in autumn is revealed. Problems of the environmental risk resulting from the excessive concentration of nitrogen compounds in the marine environment are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]