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The influence of maternal length and age on the size and weight of the eggs and the relative fecundity of the haddock, Melanogrammus aeglefinus , in British waters
Author(s) -
Hislop J. R. G.
Publication year - 1988
Publication title -
journal of fish biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.672
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1095-8649
pISSN - 0022-1112
DOI - 10.1111/j.1095-8649.1988.tb05435.x
Subject(s) - haddock , biology , fecundity , fishery , spawn (biology) , broodstock , larva , zoology , fish <actinopterygii> , ecology , aquaculture , demography , population , sociology
The diameter and dry weight of the eggs of haddock, Melanogrammus aeglefinus , are positively correlated with fish length. The correlations are largely due to the fact that many of the smaller fish that were sampled were 2 years old, and the eggs of these young haddock, which can be regarded as precocious spawners, are significantly smaller and lighter than those of older fish. The relative fecundity of 2–year–old haddock (274 eggs g −1 ) is also lower than that of the other age classes (493 eggs g −1 ); this has important implications for the estimation of egg production from female spawning stock biomass. It is pointed out that in some years precocious spawners represent a large component of the North Sea haddock spawning stock. When the annual egg production of this stock is calculated, it may be appropriate to apply a weighting factor to the number of eggs contributed by the 2–year–olds, on the assumption that the small eggs of these fish produce larvae that are less viable than those of older haddock.