Reproductive interactions between fugitive farmed and wild Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) in the field

2010 ◽  
Vol 67 (8) ◽  
pp. 1221-1231 ◽  
Author(s):  
Justin J. Meager ◽  
Jon Egil Skjæraasen ◽  
Anders Fernö ◽  
Svein Løkkeborg
Keyword(s):  
Mating System ◽  
Gadus Morhua ◽  
Atlantic Cod ◽  
Spatial Dynamics ◽  
Wild Fish ◽  
Spawning Ground ◽  
Males And Females ◽  
Farmed Escapees ◽  
Ultrasonic Transmitters

Atlantic cod ( Gadus morhua ) are being increasingly farmed in net pens adjacent to coastal populations that are currently at historic lows. One concern is that farmed escapees enter local spawning shoals and mate with wild cod. We tested for the potential of escaped farmed cod to interact and hybridize with wild fish by examining the spatial dynamics of, and associations between, fish tagged with ultrasonic transmitters. Based on these data, we also investigated the basic mating system of cod in the field. The spawning ground was best described as a lekking arena. Wild males aggregated near the seafloor and associations between individuals were frequent. Wild females had a pelagic and dispersed distribution and rarely associated with each other. Associations between individual wild males and females were also infrequent. Farmed males rarely associated with wild fish and had core usage areas above the wild males, suggesting that they were not admitted into the spawning arena. Farmed females were over the spawning arena more frequently than wild females and often associated with wild males at the depth of the spawning arena, indicating potential mating with wild males and the possibility of courtship interference. Hence, hybridization between escaped farmed and wild cod is likely.

scholarly journals Home range and elevated egg densities within an inshore spawning ground of coastal cod

2007 ◽  
Vol 64 (5) ◽  
pp. 920-928 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sigurd Heiberg Espeland ◽  
Ailin Fernløf Gundersen ◽  
Esben Moland Olsen ◽  
Halvor Knutsen ◽  
Jakob Gjøsæter ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Home Range ◽  
Site Fidelity ◽  
Gadus Morhua ◽  
Atlantic Cod ◽  
Generalized Additive Models ◽  
Spatial Dynamics ◽  
Additive Models ◽  
Spawning Season ◽  
Spawning Ground ◽  
Spawning Site

Abstract Espeland, S. H., Gundersen, A. F., Olsen, E. M., Knutsen, H., Gjøsæter, J., and Stenseth, N. C. 2007. Home range and elevated egg densities within an inshore spawning ground of coastal cod. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 64: 920–928. Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) along the Norwegian Skagerrak coast are structured into genetically distinct local populations. Mechanisms contributing to this genetic structure may include spawning site fidelity of adult cod as well as retention of pelagic early life stages close to the spawning grounds. Spawning in sheltered inshore localities is likely to favour retention of eggs and larvae, the opposite situation to offshore spawning. A combined study was made of area utilization by adult cod and the distribution of cod eggs within an inshore locality of the Norwegian Skagerrak coast. The behaviour of adult cod was studied using acoustic telemetry and kernel modelling, and eggs were sampled throughout the spawning season. Generalized additive models were applied to test hypotheses about the spatial dynamics of the eggs, and the best model described a central spawning area that retained its integrity through time. Adult cod were confined to small parts of the study area and remained there throughout the spawning season. The average home range of the adult cod was 27 ha. Overall, the study demonstrated two mechanisms by which coastal (i.e. inshore) cod maintain their population structure: spawning site fidelity and the spatial dynamics of their eggs.

Natural mortality from poor condition in Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua)

2000 ◽  
Vol 57 (4) ◽  
pp. 826-836 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean-Denis Dutil ◽  
Yvan Lambert
Keyword(s):  
Gadus Morhua ◽  
Atlantic Cod ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Fish Muscle ◽  
Early Summer ◽  
Wild Fish ◽  
Natural Mortality ◽  
Muscle Lactate ◽  
Lactate Dehydrogenase Activity ◽  
Poor Condition

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.

scholarly journals Genetic identification of farmed and wild Atlantic cod, Gadus morhua, in coastal Norway

2011 ◽  
Vol 68 (5) ◽  
pp. 901-910 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin A. Glover ◽  
Geir Dahle ◽  
Knut E. Jørstad
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Gadus Morhua ◽  
Atlantic Cod ◽  
Genetic Interactions ◽  
Genetic Identification ◽  
Fish Farms ◽  
Multiple Sources ◽  
Farmed Fish ◽  
Farmed Escapees

Abstract Glover, K. A., Dahle, G., and Jørstad, K. E. 2011. Genetic identification of farmed and wild Atlantic cod, Gadus morhua, in coastal Norway. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 68: 901–910. Each year thousands of Atlantic cod escape from Norwegian fish farms. To investigate the potential for the genetic identification of farmed–escaped cod in the wild, three case studies were examined. Samples of farmed, recaptured farmed escapees, and wild cod were screened for ten microsatellite loci and the Pan I locus. Variable genetic differences were observed among cod sampled from different farms and cages (pairwise FST = 0.0–0.1), and in two of the case studies, the most likely farm(s) of origin for most of the recaptured escapees were identified. In case study 2, wild cod were genetically distinct from both farmed fish (pairwise FST = 0.026–0.06) and recaptured farmed–escaped cod (pairwise FST = 0.029 and 0.039), demonstrating the potential to detect genetic interactions in that fjord. Genetic identification of escapees was more challenging in case study 3, and some morphologically characterized wild cod were found to most likely represent farmed escapees. It is concluded that where cod are farmed in the same region as their own parents/grandparents were initially sourced, or where farmed escapees originate from multiple sources, quantifying genetic interactions with wild populations will be challenging with neutral or nearly neutral markers such as microsatellites.

Some ectoparasitic trichodinids from Atlantic cod, Gadus morhua L., with a description of Trichodina cooperi n.sp.

1989 ◽  
Vol 67 (7) ◽  
pp. 1793-1800 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. L. Poynton ◽  
J. Lom
Keyword(s):  
Nova Scotia ◽  
Body Surface ◽  
Gadus Morhua ◽  
Atlantic Cod ◽  
Geographic Range ◽  
The Body ◽  
Wild Fish ◽  
Eastern Canada ◽  
Mean Diameter ◽  
The Mean

Trichodina murmanica Polyanskiy, 1955 (= Trichodina domerguei subsp. saintjohnsi Lom and Laird, 1969) and Trichodina cooperi n.sp. were commonly encountered on skin and fins of Atlantic cod, Gadus morhua L., near Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. A third species of Trichodina, probably new, was recorded from the skin of one fish. This is believed to be the first report of the genus Trichodina from the body surface of gadoid fish from eastern Canada, and the known geographic range of T. murmanica is extended. Trichodina cooperi n.sp. has an adoral ciliary spiral of 370–380° and is relatively large, the mean diameter of the body is 110 μm, of the adhesive disc (with dark center), 95 μm, and of the denticulate ring, 59 μm. The denticulate ring consists of 24–29 denticles (usually 27), with 7–9 radial pins per denticle. Each denticle has a broad blade, a large central part, and a slightly curved thorn of moderate to broad width, with a central rib when mature. The thorn is approximately twice the length of the blade. The horseshoe-shaped macronucleus has a diameter of 80.0 μm and the micronucleus is in the +y position. Trichodina spp. infected 26% of 39 wild fish 20 to < 60 cm long. Most wild fish yielded less than five ciliates per 24 × 50 mm smear.

scholarly journals Fish aggregating sound technique (FAST): how low-frequency sound could be used in fishing and ranching of cod

2018 ◽  
Vol 75 (4) ◽  
pp. 1258-1268 ◽  
Author(s):  
Björn Björnsson
Keyword(s):  
Fish Species ◽  
Gadus Morhua ◽  
Greenhouse Gas Emission ◽  
Atlantic Cod ◽  
Benthic Communities ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Wild Fish ◽  
Sea Cage ◽  
Free Ranging ◽  
Harmful Effects

Abstract In marine fisheries, considerable development has occurred in capture technology. Yet, some of the current fishing methods impact the environment by large greenhouse gas emission, harmful effects to benthic communities, and/or high bycatch of juvenile and unwanted species. It is proposed that for some fish species these deficiencies could be mitigated by classical conditioning using sound and food reward to concentrate wild fish before capture with environmentally friendly fishing gear. Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua), which globally is among the fish species with the highest landed value, can be acoustically trained. In a sea cage, it takes about a week to train a group of naïve cod to associate low frequency (250 Hz) sound with food, whereas the training of a group of naïve cod accompanied with one trained cod takes less than a day. In inshore areas, it takes a few weeks to attract thousands of cod to stations where food is regularly delivered. These conditioned cod wait at the stations for their meals and do not mingle much with the unconditioned cod which hunt for wild prey. It is suggested that by calling acoustically conditioned fish between stations, a much larger number of naïve fish can be gathered. This so-called fish aggregating sound technique (FAST) may thus facilitate the accumulation of wild fish and expedite their capture with a purse seine or a trap in a way that minimizes fuel consumption and mortality of juveniles and unwanted species. The operation of FAST requires exclusive rights of a designated fishing area. The exclusivity makes it possible to on-grow the fish in free-ranging schools and sea cages for several months to increase their size and food quality before capture.

scholarly journals Is recovery of northern cod limited by poor feeding? The capelin hypothesis revisited

2014 ◽  
Vol 71 (4) ◽  
pp. 784-793 ◽  
Author(s):  
Darrell R. J. Mullowney ◽  
George A. Rose
Keyword(s):  
Newfoundland And Labrador ◽  
Gadus Morhua ◽  
Atlantic Cod ◽  
Wild Fish ◽  
Fish Growth ◽  
Small Fish ◽  
Performance Trends ◽  
Northern Cod ◽  
Capelin Mallotus Villosus ◽  
Prime Condition

Abstract The slow recovery of the “northern” Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) stock off Newfoundland and Labrador has been ascribed to many factors. One hypothesis is poor feeding and condition as a consequence of a decline in capelin (Mallotus villosus), their former main prey. We compared the growth and condition of cod from known inshore (Smith Sound) and offshore (Bonavista Corridor) centres of rebuilding in wild subjects versus captive subjects fed an unlimited diet of oily rich fish. Wild fish in these areas have had different diets and population performance trends since stock declines in the early 1990s. Captive cod from both areas grew at the same rates and achieved equivalent prime condition, while their wild counterparts differed, with smaller sizes, lower condition in small fish, and elevated mortality levels in the offshore centre. Environmental temperature conditions did not account for the differences in performance of wild fish. Our results suggest that fish growth and condition, and hence rebuilding in the formerly large offshore spawning components of the northern cod, have been limited by a lack of capelin in their diet. Furthermore, we suggest that these groups are unlikely to rebuild until a recovery in capelin occurs.

Dispersal of wild and escapee farmed Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) in Newfoundland

2013 ◽  
Vol 70 (5) ◽  
pp. 747-755 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily W. Zimmermann ◽  
Craig F. Purchase ◽  
Ian A. Fleming ◽  
John Brattey
Keyword(s):  
Acoustic Telemetry ◽  
Gadus Morhua ◽  
Atlantic Cod ◽  
Wild Fish ◽  
Spatiotemporal Distribution ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Commercial Fisheries ◽  
Wild Populations ◽  
Ecological Consequences ◽  
Considerable Distance

Inherent trait differences and changes that arise through domestication could be maladaptive and lead to negative ecological consequences when non-native individuals escape from aquaculture cages and interact with wild populations. We used acoustic telemetry to map the spatiotemporal distribution of local wild (n = 29) and “escapee” farmed Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) (n = 52) through experimental releases off eastern Newfoundland to determine the potential for interaction. Dispersal from the cage (>600 m) was rapid (50% dispersal: 12 h for farmed; 5 h for wild) and nonrandom. Most cod (85% farmed, 55% wild) moved northward, remaining close to shore. Although recaptures of escapees during small-scale recreational and commercial fisheries was high (11% farmed; 10% wild), our results suggest that directed efforts to recapture escapees would be logistically challenging. Cod migrated a considerable distance (maximum 256 km for wild; 157 km for farmed), and some returned to the bay the following year. The similarity of the distribution of escapee farmed and wild cod suggests the potential for interactions between farmed and wild fish, highlighting the importance of minimizing escapes.

Multiyear homing of Atlantic cod to a spawning ground

2001 ◽  
Vol 58 (12) ◽  
pp. 2325-2329 ◽  
Author(s):  
D Robichaud ◽  
G A Rose
Keyword(s):  
North Atlantic ◽  
Gadus Morhua ◽  
Atlantic Cod ◽  
Spawning Season ◽  
Spawning Ground ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Tag Loss ◽  
Sea Bed ◽  
Placentia Bay

Long-term sonar transmitting tags were implanted in 27 female and 21 male cod (Gadus morhua) at the Bar Haven spawning ground in Placentia Bay, Newfoundland, in April 1998. Two thirds of tagged fish were relocated. All relocations during the 1999 and 2000 spawning seasons were within 10 km of the tagging site, the majority being within a few hundred metres. No tagged fish were relocated at other spawning grounds or elsewhere in the bay during the spawning season. Outside the spawning season, several tagged fish were relocated in other parts of the bay at ranges of a few kilometres to 110 km from the tagging site, as were 13 of 15 fishery returns (2 returns from several hundred kilometres outside the bay). Homing rates in 1999 and 2000 were 39% and 53%, respectively, after adjustments for tag loss, mortality, misreporting, and relocation efficiency based on returns from a sea-bed beacon tag left at the Bar Haven grounds. Multiyear homing was observed in 26% of cod. This study provides the first direct evidence that cod undertaking long-distance feeding migrations may home to a specific spawning ground in consecutive years, and a hypothesis for the slow recolonisation rates observed in North Atlantic cod stocks.

Historical spatiotemporal dynamics of eastern North Sea cod

2012 ◽  
Vol 69 (5) ◽  
pp. 833-841 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valerio Bartolino ◽  
Massimiliano Cardinale ◽  
Henrik Svedäng ◽  
Hans W. Linderholm ◽  
Michele Casini ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
North Sea ◽  
Gadus Morhua ◽  
Historical Data ◽  
Atlantic Cod ◽  
Spatial Dynamics ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Temporal Perspective ◽  
Data Set ◽  
The North ◽  
Early Century

Recent analyses of historical data of fish abundance and distribution have shown the importance of a long temporal perspective in the evaluation of the current status of fish populations, but pose numerous difficulties such as fragmentation and inhomogeneities in the amount of available information in space and time. Using mixed-effects models in a multiscale analysis, we identified an appropriate spatiotemporal scale of investigation of a high-quality, spatially explicit historical data set, and we reconstructed the long-term spatial dynamics of Atlantic cod ( Gadus morhua ) in the Kattegat–Skagerrak along the 20th century. We identified a northern and southern main aggregation of adult cod in the study area, corresponding to the Skagerrak portion of the North Sea and the Kattegat cod stocks, respectively. The stocks showed specificities in their spatial dynamics, but common extensive loss of coastal aggregations during the last decades when only 13% (Kattegat) and 35% (Skagerrak) of the estimated early century cod biomass was left. Our reconstruction showed that the collapse of the cod stocks in the area followed the peak in landings in the 1960s–1970s, suggesting that the postwar development of the industrial fisheries played a major role in the decrease of local abundances and disappearance of local adult cod aggregations.

scholarly journals The expression of secondary sexual characteristics in recruit- and repeat-spawning farmed and wild Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua)

2008 ◽  
Vol 65 (9) ◽  
pp. 1710-1716 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jon Egil Skjæraasen ◽  
Justin J. Meager ◽  
Ørjan Karlsen
Keyword(s):  
Gadus Morhua ◽  
Atlantic Cod ◽  
Mating Behaviour ◽  
Secondary Sexual Characteristics ◽  
Sexual Characteristics ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Defensive Behaviours ◽  
Farmed Escapees ◽  
Pelvic Fin ◽  
Secondary Sexual

Abstract Skjæraasen, J. E., Meager, J. J., and Karlsen, Ø. 2008. The expression of secondary sexual characteristics in recruit- and repeat-spawning farmed and wild Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua). – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 65: 1710–1716. We examined the expression of the two known secondary sexual characteristics of Atlantic cod, the pelvic fin and the drumming muscle, in farmed and wild cod stemming from the same population. Farmed and wild males had longer pelvic fins and larger drumming muscles than females, but wild cod had longer fins than farmed cod. The size of the drumming muscle of males was similar among wild and farmed cod, but farmed females had smaller muscles than their wild counterparts. Repeat-spawning wild males tended to invest less in drumming-muscle mass and more in pelvic-fin growth than recruit-spawning fish, whereas the reverse was true for farmed males. Males use pelvic fins to embrace females during ventral mounts, a key mating behaviour, and display them to other males during agonistic interactions. The drumming muscle is used by males to produce sound during courtship and aggressive displays, whereas females only use sound outside the spawning season, for agonistic and defensive behaviours that are unlikely to be as important in the farming environment. The results are discussed in the context of the reproductive success of farmed escapees in the wild.

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