Abstract
In recent years stock structure recommendations for megrim on the Northern Shelf have varied, primarily due to a lack of biological and fishery data. In this study, we compared a number of life history characteristics of the common megrim Lepidorhombus whiffiagonis (Walbaum) between the northern North Sea and Rockall, the latitudinal extremes of the species' distribution on the Northern Shelf. Reproductive timing, sex ratio, maturity and growth were different between the two study areas. Reproductive timing in the northern North Sea was more protracted than at Rockall and other areas. There were differences in sex ratio between the study areas and female megrim in the northern North Sea exhibited different growth rates and larger size at maturity than at Rockall. The results of this study support the recent changes to the definition of the Northern Shelf stocks which recommend that the northern North Sea be treated separately to Rockall.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 62-68 |
| Number of pages | 7 |
| Journal | Journal of Sea Research |
| Volume | 75 |
| Early online date | 12 Jun 2012 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Jan 2013 |
Bibliographical note
This study was carried out during a wider investigation into the biology and ecology of megrim in the northern North Sea and was partly funded by the Seafish Industry Authority, Scottish Fishermen's Trust and Shetland Islands Council. We are grateful to Marine Scotland-Science and all the fishermen who provided access to their vessels for sampling. We are also grateful to Alan Baudron who provided statistical advice and Georg H. Engelhard and one anonymous reviewer for their insightful comments. Free R-software was used for part of this work (http://www.R-project.org).Keywords
- Flatfish
- Growth
- Lepidorhombus whiffiagonis
- Northern Shelf
- Reproduction
- Sex ratio
