Gonatus fabricii (Lichtenstein), en mulig fiskeriressurs i Norskehavet : [Gonatus fabricii (Lichtenstein), a possible fishery resource in the Norwegian Sea]

• Main Author: Wiborg, Kristian Fredrik
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Havforskningsinstituttet 1979
• Subjects: Jan Mayen; Norway; Norwegian Sea; The Beak; Vesterålen; Finnmark; Iceland; Norskehav*; North Norway; Subarctic; Spitsbergen
• Online Access: https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/50797/; https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/50797/1/2958.pdf

Gonatus fabricii (herafter gonatus) is a pelagic squid, widely distribute in boreal and subarctic waters. Material for the present investigation has been collected since 1970 mainly in the Norwegian SDea and adjacent areas during postlarval and 0-group fish surveys during late summer and autumn. Earlier material used included stomach contents from hooded seals caught in the Jan Mayen area, and fro bottlenose whales taken east of Iceland and off labrador. Gonatus larvae were also taken in plankton net hausl at Station M at 66°00'N 02°'00 E. Gonatus with mantle lengths 6-20mm were found in the Norwegian Sea between December and July, 25-45mm in Feburary - September, and 55-100mm in May - September and in December. larger squid, mantle lengths 13-28cm, were only taken from stomach contents of hooded seals and bottlenose whales. During 1978 gonatus with mantle lengths 15-45mm were very abundant in the surface layers of the central and eastern Norwegian Sea during summer and autumn, up to 2000 specimens (5000 ml) were taken in half hour hauls with a Harstad trawl, 18x18m opening. Juveniles also became stranded along the coast of eastern Finnmark in North Norway during the autumn. The correlation between rostral length (RL) of the beak and mantle length of gonatus has been roughly calculated. In stomach contents of bottlenose whales cuaght off labrador during May - June 1967, the calculated mantle lengths of gonatus varied from 6cm to 30cm, mostly 13-28cm. In the Norwegian Sea spawning and hatching of gonatus probably occur from December to July, with the peak in April - June. The main areas of spawning may coincide with localities were bottlenose whales are abundant as can be seen from catch staticstics, e-g- off eastern Iceland, Møre, Vesterålen and West of Spitsbergen (Fig. /). The life cycle of gonatus is probably closely connected to the current system of the Norwegian Sea and adjacent seas. A fishery for juvenile gonatus should be tried in these areas, chiefly during April - August, using trawls, lights and dip ...