Precocious maturation and smoltification in wild atlantic salmon in the Armorican Massif France

• Published in: Aquaculture
• Main Authors: Bagliniere, Maisse
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: 1985
• Subjects: fish;smoltification;sexual maturation; saumon de l'atlantique; salmo salar; poisson; salmonidae; bretagne; rivière; rivière du scorff; dynamique des populations; maturation sexuelle; précocité sexuelle; reproduction; Atlantic salmon; Salmo salar
• Online Access: http://prodinra.inra.fr/ft/6A550819-CF83-4ED7-98E1-CC671EBE6B69; http://prodinra.inra.fr/record/79625; https://doi.org/10.1016/0044-8486(85)90274-1

In wild Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar, of Armorican rivers, precocious maturity occurred at <5% at age 0+ (males only). At 1+ (in both sexes) the percentage occurrence varied between years and stretches of river. Spawning marks on scales of smolts and anadromous adults confirmed that such fish smoltify after spawning. From back-calculation from scales of R. Scorff salmon it was found that: (1) mature parr were larger than immature fish at 1+ in autumn and at smolting; (2) mature 1+ parr had been intermediate in length between upper and lower modal group fish in their first autumn. It is suggested that in western France a holobiotic cycle for the Atlantic salmon can occur before the amphibiotic one as an adaptive strategy.