Tracking escaped Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua L.) aggregated around Norwegian farms: Considerations for management strategies

2017 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 265-273 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. D. Hedger ◽  
R. M. Serra-Llinares ◽  
P. Arechavala-Lopez ◽  
R. Nilsen ◽  
P. A. Bjørn ◽  
...  
2005 ◽  
Vol 62 (5) ◽  
pp. 1006-1015 ◽  
Author(s):  
L.G.S. Mello ◽  
G.A. Rose

Abstract Seasonal cycle in weight and physiological condition of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) influenced productivity and economic impacts of the cod fishery in Placentia Bay, Newfoundland. Condition indices (Fulton's K condition factor and hepatosomatic index – HSI) were lowest during the spawning season (spring) and increased rapidly during the postspawning period, reaching maximum values by fall (K and HSI increased on average 24% and 82% between spring and fall, respectively). Somatic weight and condition indices varied seasonally. Condition indices were correlated with an industry index of product yield. Historically, cod fisheries have been prosecuted during all seasons, but simulations of 1997–1999 fisheries indicate that a fall fishery (period of peak physiological condition) resulted in a 8–17% decrease in the number of cod removed from the stock while maintaining the same weight-based quotas, and profiting from maximum yield and better product quality. Spring and summer fisheries resulted in lower yield (6%) and quality (5–26%) of fish products by weight. Seasonal biological cycles could be used as templates for management strategies that promote fisheries conservation and economic benefits by harvesting fish during periods when biological impacts are minimal and economic returns maximal.


1999 ◽  
Vol 56 (10) ◽  
pp. 1818-1831 ◽  
Author(s):  
J -D Dutil ◽  
M Castonguay ◽  
D Gilbert ◽  
D Gascon

Northern Gulf of St. Lawrence Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) is one of several stocks that collapsed in eastern Canada following a long period of intensive exploitation. Surplus and net production per capita became nil or negative in the mid-1980s so that any level of exploitation would have caused a decline of the stock. This was partly explained by a marked decline in growth production and is consistent with smaller sizes-at-age but also lower condition factor values during the same period. Correlations between size-at-age and temperature were not significant when corrected for autocorrelation, but slopes were always positive, suggesting higher growth rates at higher temperatures. Smaller sizes-at-age in the 1980s were not associated with changes in the fishery or increased fishing mortality, nor were they consistent with the density-dependence hypothesis. Lengths at age 8 decreased by more than 10 cm as the stock decreased 10-fold in abundance. While size-at-age and temperature covary in cod when all stocks are examined, size-temperature relationships are not as clear if the analysis is restricted to cold-water stocks, possibly because of differences in food availability. Biological production varies from year to year and among stocks and should be taken into consideration when managing fisheries in variable or extreme environments.


2012 ◽  
Vol 69 (1) ◽  
pp. 112-121 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hacène Tamdrari ◽  
Martin Castonguay ◽  
Jean-Claude Brêthes ◽  
Peter S. Galbraith ◽  
Daniel E. Duplisea

We examined how the distribution of Atlantic cod ( Gadus morhua ) is influenced by abiotic (temperature, salinity, depth, suitable habitat) and biotic (stock biomass) factors based on tagging−recapture data collected from 1995 to 2008 by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada in the northern Gulf of St. Lawrence. We calculated a centre of gravity index and a dispersion index using only individuals recaptured more than 1 year after tagging during the summer. The centre of gravity showed a northward expansion and eastward contraction in recent years, reflecting both fish distribution and changes in fishing effort. The dispersion index was significantly related to temperature, habitat suitability, and biomass but not to salinity or depth. These results indicate that interannual fluctuations of temperature and stock abundance both influence the dispersion pattern of cod. This new information could influence spatio-temporal fisheries management strategies for northern Gulf cod.


2009 ◽  
Vol 66 (6) ◽  
pp. 1303-1309 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher W. D. Gurshin ◽  
J. Michael Jech ◽  
W. Huntting Howell ◽  
Thomas C. Weber ◽  
Larry A. Mayer

Abstract Gurshin, C. W. D., Jech, J. M., Howell, W. H., Weber, T. C., and Mayer, L. A. 2009. Measurements of acoustic backscatter and density of captive Atlantic cod with synchronized 300-kHz multibeam and 120-kHz split-beam echosounders. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 66: 1303–1309. Effective management strategies for Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) in the Gulf of Maine require stock assessments based on accurate estimates of its abundance and distribution. If multibeam echosounders are to provide data for such estimates, the relationship between acoustic backscatter and fish biology must be better understood. Working towards this goal, a series of acoustic measurements was made using a 120 kHz, split-beam echosounder (Simrad EK60) and a 300 kHz, multibeam echosounder (Kongsberg EM3002). The transducers from both systems were fixed to a platform over a submerged 98 m3 cage made of 5 cm stretched-nylon mesh. After standard-sphere calibrations, the cage was stocked with live, mature Atlantic cod, with a mean total length of 80.7 cm (range: 51.5–105.0 cm). The echosounders synchronously collected acoustic data, while the cod were monitored with two underwater video cameras. Cod were incrementally removed from the cage to provide a time-series of acoustic backscatter at four densities (n = 128, 116, 66, and 23). Backscatter measurements of cod are compared between echosounders and over time, and the factors affecting the acoustically derived density estimates are discussed. The benefits and limitations of the EM3002 are highlighted.


2005 ◽  
Vol 62 (3) ◽  
pp. 339-343 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keith M. Brander

Abstract Stocks of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) have been declining over much of the North Atlantic for the past 30 years, owing to a combination of overfishing and adverse changes in their environment. In a previous study, environmental effects were introduced as an extra parameter in the stock-recruit relationship, where they act as a multiplier, independent of the level of spawning-stock biomass (SSB). Using a non-parametric pooled analysis of all cod stocks on the European Shelf south of 62°N, it is shown here that environmental variability (as represented by the North Atlantic Oscillation) only has a significant effect on recruitment when the spawning stock is low. This has implications for fisheries management strategies, and for rates of stock recovery, which will be very dependent on environmental conditions.


2008 ◽  
Vol 4 (6) ◽  
pp. 693-695 ◽  
Author(s):  
William F Hutchinson

The plight of the marine fisheries is attracting increasing attention as unsustainably high exploitation levels, exacerbated by more extreme climatic conditions, are driving stocks to the point of collapse. The North Atlantic cod ( Gadus morhua ), a species which until recently formed a major component of the demersal fisheries, has undergone significant declines across its range. The North Sea stock is typical of many, with a spawning stock biomass that has remained below the safe biological limit since 2000 and recruitment levels near the lowest on record. Cod within the North Sea are currently managed as a single stock, and yet mounting empirical evidence supports the existence of a metapopulation of regionally variable, genetically distinct, sub-stocks. Applying the same management strategies to multiple stocks that differ in their resilience to exploitation inevitably results in the overfishing and likely collapse of the weaker components. Indeed, recent studies have identified two North Sea spawning stocks that have undergone disproportionally large collapses with very substantial reductions in egg production. Similarly affected cod stocks in the northwest Atlantic have shown little evidence of recovery, despite fishery closures. The possible implications of ignoring sub-structuring within management units for biocomplexity, local adaptation and ecosystem stability are considered.


2014 ◽  
Vol 514 ◽  
pp. 217-229 ◽  
Author(s):  
HY Wang ◽  
LW Botsford ◽  
JW White ◽  
MJ Fogarty ◽  
F Juanes ◽  
...  

2009 ◽  
Vol 36 (4) ◽  
pp. 883-891 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlo C. Lazado ◽  
Christopher Marlowe A. Caipang ◽  
Sanchala Gallage ◽  
Monica F. Brinchmann ◽  
Viswanath Kiron

Author(s):  
Sayyed Mohammad Hadi Alavi ◽  
Azadeh Hatef ◽  
Ian A.E. Butts ◽  
Olga Bondarenko ◽  
Jacky Cosson ◽  
...  

2000 ◽  
Vol 57 (4) ◽  
pp. 826-836 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean-Denis Dutil ◽  
Yvan Lambert

The extent of energy depletion was assessed in Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) in spring and early summer (1993-1995) to assess relationships between poor condition and natural mortality. Several indices of condition were compared in wild fish in the northern Gulf of St. Lawrence and in fish exposed to a prolonged period of starvation in laboratory experiments. Discriminant analyses classified only a small fraction of the wild fish as similar to cod that did not survive and a much larger fraction as similar to cod that survived starvation. This percentage increased from April to May and peaked in June 1993 and 1994. Condition factor and muscle somatic index allowed a clear distinction between live and dead fish. Muscle lactate dehydrogenase activity suggested that cod had experienced a period of negative growth early in 1993, 1994, and 1995. Fish classified as similar to starved individuals were characterized by a higher gonad to liver mass ratio than others. Reproduction may have a negative impact on survival not only in spring but also later into summer, as some individuals were found not to have recovered by late summer. This study shows that natural mortality from poor condition contributed to lower production in the early 1990s.


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