W. H. Lear and R. Wells
Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Fisheries Research Branch
Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Centre, P. O. Box 5667
St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada A1C 5X1
Source - Journal of Northwest Atlantic Fishery Science, Volume 5(1): 23-31
ISSN-0250-7408
Abstract
Vertebral averages for juvenile Atlantic cod (age-groups 0, 1 and 2), collected during 1956-70 in coastal waters of Labrador and eastern Newfoundland, were used as indicators of stock origin. The averages were typically high (>=54.8) for most of the samples and within the range reported for adult cod of the Labrador-East Newfoundland stock which spawns offshore on the continental shelf. The consistently lower averages for the 1960 and 1961 year classes may have resulted from delayed spawning and/or more favourable temperature conditions after spawning in these years. Occasional vertebral averages lower than 54.8 for other year-classes, particularly in the southern part of the surveyed area, evidently indicate intermingling with juveniles of the southern cod stock which typically have lower vertebral counts. The vertebral averages for age-groups 0 and 1 cod of the 1959 to 1969 year-classes from Notre Dame Bay were inversely correlated with mean temperatures of the 0-100 m water layer at a station in the Labrador Current off eastern Newfoundland.
Language - English
Publisher - Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO), Dartmouth, N.S., Canada
Publication Date - January 1984
Publication Type - Journal Article
Descriptors - Atlantic cod, meristics, Newfoundland area, temperature
Vertebral Averages of Juvenile Cod, Gadus morhua, from Coastal Waters of Eastern Newfoundland and Labrador as Indicators of Stock Origin