Turnover time and annual migration of Clupea harengus Atlantic herring on the German Bank and Scot's Bay spawning grounds :: a mark and recapture study
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Date
2013
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University of New Brunswick
Abstract
This study examined eleven years of mark and recapture data to quantify turnover time,
defined as the time required for individuals to aggregate, spawn and exit the spawning
area, of Clupea harengus Atlantic herring on the German Bank and Scot's Bay
spawning grounds off eastern Canada. Herring migrating from the Scot's Bay spawning
ground have a shorter mean turnover time and faster dispersal rate than German Bank
herring. Most post-spawned Scot's Bay herring migrated to the approaches of the Bay of
Fundy where they mixed with German Bank herring. German Bank herring were more
broadly distributed, occurring near the approaches of the Bay of Fundy, throughout the
Gulf of Maine, and on Scotian Shelf. No mixing of the two populations occurred during
spawning indicating self-sustaining reproductively isolated populations. The two
populations only mixed during feeding and overwintering. Population specific turnover
times calculated in this study improve current methods of estimating spawning stock
biomass, thereby reducing the risk of overexploiting the resource.