Do the males of Dissostichus eleginoides grow faster, or only mature before females?

Maturity data information obtained by the scientific observers on board the ships Argos Helena and Cisne Verde during August of 1997 -and utilized by the WG-FSA-97 to build the maturity ogives- were age transformed applying the age-size relationship obtained from the specific equations for each sex in samples coming from South Georgia Islands. The results show that the differences are due to maturity at age and not due to the growth rate. Based on this sample of 434 females and 398 males, it is concluded that the males mature for the first time at 4 years age and females at 10 years age, reaching 100% maturity at 12 years age the males and 21 years age the females.