Back-calculation of previous fish size using individually tagged and marked Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua)

2008 ◽  
Vol 65 (11) ◽  
pp. 2496-2508 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Li ◽  
H. Høie ◽  
A. J. Geffen ◽  
E. Heegaard ◽  
J. Skadal ◽  
...  

The performance of five back-calculation (B-C) models was tested with individually tagged and multiple alizarin-marked Atlantic cod ( Gadus morhua ) reared at seasonally varying water temperature and food regimes over a 10-month period. The otoliths were transversely sectioned and the otolith growth between marks was measured along the dorsal, distal, and ventral radii and across the otolith width. Observed fish lengths at each marking time were compared with back-calculated lengths using linear and nonlinear scale and body proportional hypotheses (SPH and BPH) and biological intercept (BI) models. Measurements along the dorsal and distal radius with SPH and BI provided more accurate fish length estimates but with lower precision, whereas measurements of the ventral radius consistently produced greater overestimations by any model. Otolith width measurements produced moderately overestimated fish length estimates but with the highest precision and were significantly affected by temperature in all models. Certain combinations of model and otolith dimension were more sensitive to the length of the back-calculation time interval, whereas varying feeding regime induced temporary biases only. The selection of B-C model and otolith dimension thus depends not only on the environmental conditions that the fish experience, but also on the requirements of the application for which the B-C is used.

2010 ◽  
Vol 144 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 153-159 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anders Jón Fjellheim ◽  
Geir Klinkenberg ◽  
Jorunn Skjermo ◽  
Inga Marie Aasen ◽  
Olav Vadstein

2006 ◽  
Vol 63 (2) ◽  
pp. 209-215 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Dahle ◽  
K.E. Jørstad ◽  
H.E. Rusaas ◽  
H. Otterå

Abstract The aquaculture industry in Norway is now focused on developing economically viable farming based on the Atlantic cod, Gadus morhua. Extensive research has been carried out on this species for the past two decades, much of it in connection with stock enhancement. Until now, most of the intensive cage culture has been based on wild broodstock. However, a future cod aquaculture industry must be based on a domesticated broodstock, and the initial selection of wild cod becomes an important issue. Genetic differentiation between coastal cod populations in Norway has been reported, and it is of interest to evaluate offspring from some of these populations under farmed conditions. Live mature cod were collected at four selected spawning sites along the Norwegian coast (Porsangerfjord, Tysfjord, Herøy/Helgeland, and Øygarden). The fish were transported to Parisvatnet, a cod aquaculture facility west of Bergen, where they were kept in net pens. Individual tagging and extensive sampling (blood, white muscle, and fin clips) for genetic characterization were carried out. Each potential broodstock fish was genotyped at the haemoglobin and pantophysin I loci in addition to five allozyme (LDH-3∗, GPD∗, IDH-2∗, PGM∗, PGI-1∗) and ten microsatellite loci (Gmo2, Gmo3, Gmo8, Gmo19, Gmo34, Gmo35, Gmo36, Gmo37, Gmo132, Tch11). Comparison of allele frequencies revealed significant genetic differences among some of the coastal cod samples, and offspring performance of the broodstock is now being compared under farmed conditions. The overall test revealed significant genetic differences among the coastal broodstocks, with the HbI, PanI and the microsatellite Gmo132 loci being most informative.


1998 ◽  
Vol 55 (12) ◽  
pp. 2548-2561 ◽  
Author(s):  
D P Swain ◽  
G A Chouinard ◽  
R Morin ◽  
K F Drinkwater

We compared habitat associations of southern Gulf of St. Lawrence Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) and American plaice (Hippoglossoides platessoides) between the summer feeding season on the Magdalen Shallows and the overwintering period in the Cabot Strait. Data were from bottom trawl surveys conducted in September 1993, 1994, and 1995 and January 1994, 1995, and 1996. Both species occupied much deeper, warmer water in winter than in summer. The effect of cod age on temperature distribution reversed between the two seasons, with younger cod occupying warmer water than older cod in summer and colder water in winter. Selection of both depth and temperature by cod tended to be more significant in September than in January. The reduced statistical significance of habitat selection by cod in winter was associated with a more aggregated distribution in this season. The contrast between seasons in habitat associations was particularly strong for plaice. The median habitats occupied by plaice were 58-67 m and -0.1 to 0.3°C in September and 374-426 m and 5.2-5.4°C in January. Habitat selection by plaice was significant in both seasons, but significance tended to be greater in January. Degree of aggregation in plaice distribution was similar between the two seasons. Female plaice occupied significantly warmer water than males in September but not in January. The ecological and practical implications of this striking seasonal variation in habitat associations are discussed.


1977 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 147-150 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. S. Scott

Dimensions of cleithrum bones from recently caught Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) were measured and plotted against observed fish lengths to back-calculate cod lengths from cleithra from a ship wrecked in 1865. Mercury levels in the historical bones were approximately the same as those in recent material and showed no increase with fish length, but zinc levels appearto have increased since 1865 and increased with fish length.


2000 ◽  
Vol 57 (6) ◽  
pp. 1200-1207 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul D Winger ◽  
Pingguo He ◽  
Stephen J Walsh

The swimming endurance of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua), native to the cold waters off the east coast of Newfoundland and Labrador, was investigated under laboratory conditions. Using a swimming flume, endurance was tested at swimming speeds ranging from 0.6 to 1.3 m·s-1 using water temperatures from 0.0 to 9.8°C ( mean = 3.2°C, SD = 2.8) and fish lengths from 41.0 to 86.0 cm ( mean = 57.8 cm, SD = 10.5). The results revealed that swimming speed was the only significant factor affecting the endurance of cod. The maximum sustained swimming speed (Ums) was predicted to be 0.66 m·s-1. Statistical analysis of the data was conducted using failure time analysis. The hazard, or risk of exhaustion, was found to increase rapidly with increasing swimming speed, i.e., there was a decrease in the probability of cod achieving a given swimming endurance. Probability curves for the endurance of cod were calculated for different swimming speeds. The findings suggest that the catching efficiency of commercially targeted cod (>41.0 cm) by otter trawls may be highly sensitive to changes in towing speed while being independent of both fish length and water temperature.


2009 ◽  
Vol 66 (6) ◽  
pp. 1225-1232 ◽  
Author(s):  
Viacheslav A. Ermolchev

Abstract Ermolchev, V. A., 2009. Methods and results of in situ target-strength measurements of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) during combined trawl-acoustic surveys. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 66: 1225–1232. This paper presents methods for collecting acoustic and biological data, including in situ target-strength (TS) estimates of fish, with results presented for Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) obtained from combined trawl-acoustic surveys. These include fish in the small, average, and maximum length classes, within the range 5–136 cm (total fish length, LT). The investigations were done using Simrad EK500/EK60 echosounders with split-beam transducers and special post-processing software. Based on an analysis of data collected in the Barents Sea during 1998–2007, a relationship TS = 25.2 log10(LT) − 74.8 was obtained for Atlantic cod at 38 kHz, with TS in dB and LT in centimetres. Seasonally, and for depths between 50 and 500 m, the variability in cod TS was 3.1 dB, decreasing with depth. The largest day–night difference in mean TS was in August–September, with changes as large as 1.0–1.7 dB. In the other seasons, the day–night difference was <1.0 dB.


2007 ◽  
Vol 64 (2) ◽  
pp. 375-385 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna B Neuheimer ◽  
Christopher T Taggart

Growth rate in ectotherms, including most fish, is a function of temperature. For decades, agriculturalists (270+ years) and entomologists (45+ years) have recognized the thermal integral, known as the growing degree-day (GDD, °C·day), to be a reliable predictor of growth and development. Fish and fisheries researchers have yet to widely acknowledge the power of the GDD in explaining growth and development among fishes. We demonstrate that fish length-at-day (LaD), in most cases prior to maturation, is a strong linear function of the GDD metric that can explain >92% of the variation in LaD among 41 data sets representing nine fish species drawn from marine and freshwater environments, temperate and tropical climes, constant and variable temperature regimes, and laboratory and field studies. The GDD demonstrates explanatory power across large spatial scales, e.g., 93% of the variation in LaD for age-2 to -4 Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) across their entire range (17 stocks) is explained by one simple GDD function. Moreover, GDD can explain much of the variation in fish egg development time and in aquatic invertebrate (crab) size-at-age. Our analysis extends the well-established and physiologically relevant GDD metric to fish where, relative to conventional time-based methods, it provides greater explanatory power.


1989 ◽  
Vol 46 (11) ◽  
pp. 1884-1894 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard L. Radtke

External and internal examination of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) otoliths for macrostructure and microstructure, by light and scanning electron microscopy, indicated daily rhythmic patterns. The first daily increment developed the day after hatching. Sagittae changed shape from spherical to oblong at 20 d and to crenulated at 50−60 d old. Cod were reared at three temperatures (6,8 and 10 °C), to provide a range of growth and developmental rates. Distinctive marks formed at yolk-sac absorption, initiation of feeding and settlement. It was possible to determine age and growth rate from otolith analyses. The relationship between otolith length and fish size was independent of growth rate; it followed a quadratic function for the smaller individuals (< 6.5 mm), and it was linear in individuals greater than 25 mm. Larval fish shrank considerably at death. The magnitude of shrinkage was dependent on larval length, and the elapsed time between death and fixation. Immediate fixation in ethanol resulted in minimal shrinkage. The relationship between fish length and otolith diameter may be used to correct for shrinkage associated with collection and death.


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