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Use of the Age‐Length Relationship as a Marker for Differentiating Geographical Stocks of Adult Channel Catfish
Author(s) -
Ashley Keith W.,
Garling Donald L.,
Ney John J.
Publication year - 1981
Publication title -
north american journal of fisheries management
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.587
H-Index - 72
eISSN - 1548-8675
pISSN - 0275-5947
DOI - 10.1577/1548-8659(1981)1<77:uotara>2.0.co;2
Subject(s) - ictalurus , catfish , channel (broadcasting) , ictaluridae , fishery , fish <actinopterygii> , bay , biology , geography , environmental science , archaeology , engineering , electrical engineering
The age‐length relationship was evaluated as a possible method for differentiating geographically separated stocks of adult channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus). Slopes (i.e., growth rates) from age‐length regressions calculated for three widely separated strains of adult channel catfish (Sandusky Bay, Ohio River in Kentucky, and Mississippi farm ponds) were utilized as a reference group, and compared to slopes from similar regressions calculated for three strains of adult channel catfish (experimental group) taken from Lake Erie, Ohio River, and Alabama farm ponds and stocked into a warmwater put‐and‐take fishery. Comparisons made between slopes of individual experimental fish and the slopes of both reference and experimental groups indicated that the age‐length relationship can be used to identify the origin of an individual fish only when the stocks are widely separated and growth rates are greatly different.