Growth Comparison between Juvenile Atlantic Mackerel ( Scomber scombrus ) from the Two Spawning Groups of the Northwest Atlantic

We compared daily growth patterns of otoliths of juvenile Atlantic mackerel (Scomber scombrus) younger than 91 d between the two spawning groups that occur in the Northwest Atlantic using a Gompertz model to determine whether it is possible to differentiate these groups on the basis of otolith micro...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
Main Authors: Simard, Patrick, Castonguay, Martin, D'Amours, Denis, Magnan, Pierre
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Canadian Science Publishing 1992
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Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/f92-245
http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/f92-245
Description
Summary:We compared daily growth patterns of otoliths of juvenile Atlantic mackerel (Scomber scombrus) younger than 91 d between the two spawning groups that occur in the Northwest Atlantic using a Gompertz model to determine whether it is possible to differentiate these groups on the basis of otolith microstructure in a mixed fishery. The growth curve parameters for the northern and southern groups, respectively, were 36.2 versus 39.7 d for the inflection point (t 0 ), 0.047 versus 0.040 for the instantaneous growth rate (k) when t = t 0 , and 169.1 versus 192.5 mm for the asymptotic length at the end of the first summer of growth (L ∞ ). These growth curves do not significantly differ (likelihood ratio test, P > 0.5). It therefore appears that the otolith microstructure corresponding to the first summer would not allow identification of the group of origin.