Observations on the shoaling behaviour of cod ( Gadus callarias ) in deep water relative to daylight

• Published in: Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom
• Main Author: Ellis, G. H.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 1956
• Subjects: Aquatic Science; Barents Sea; Skolpen Bank
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0025315400010237; https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0025315400010237

It is well known that vision is the main physical factor governing the formation and maintenance offish shoals, and that, in general, shoals break up when the light intensity falls below a certain level. Breder (1929, 1942), Newman (1876), Parr (1927, 1931), and others, have shown this by laboratory experiment. During a commercial fishing voyage to the Barents Sea it became possible, by means of a recording echo-sounder, to study the shoaling behaviour of cod in deep water relative to light intensity. The observations were made aboard the Hull trawler Lancella whilst fishing in a depth of 110 fathoms at Skolpen Bank in September 1955. For this a Kelvin and Hughes recording echosounder type MS. 24J was used, the depth range across the chart being 55 fathoms. The scale was phased so that the region between 80 and 135 fathoms deep was displayed.