Comparison of spawning characteristics of cod (Gadus morhua) stocks

A fundamental problem in studying fish populations is to identify the processes which govern their dynamics and the appropriate scales (in time and space) at which to investigate these processes. One possible way to identify the processes is by describing the life history characteristics and compari...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: K. Brander
Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
Format: Text
Language:English
Published: 1993
Subjects:
18
Online Access:http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.562.532
http://archive.nafo.int/open/studies/s18/brander.pdf
Description
Summary:A fundamental problem in studying fish populations is to identify the processes which govern their dynamics and the appropriate scales (in time and space) at which to investigate these processes. One possible way to identify the processes is by describing the life history characteristics and comparing those characteristics for different areas in which the species occurs. Some preliminary results of a comparative study of cod (Gadus morhua) and haddock (Melanogrammus aeglefinus (L.)) life histories and population dynamics, under-taken by scientists within ICES, are presented to stimulate further development of the initiative. This paper concentrates principally on the timing and location of cod spawning, and briefly summarizes the information available for most of the geographic range of the species in the North Atlantic. It looks in greater detail at the area around the British Isles and at the Scotian Shelf, in order to investigate variability in timing of spawning on a smaller scale. Some conclusions are drawn about the processes and scales which may be appropriate for further investigation.