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Mass Production of Atlantic Cod Juveniles Gadus morhua in a Norwegian Saltwater Pond
Author(s) -
ØIestad V.,
Kvenseth P. G.,
Folkvord A.
Publication year - 1985
Publication title -
transactions of the american fisheries society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.696
H-Index - 86
eISSN - 1548-8659
pISSN - 0002-8487
DOI - 10.1577/1548-8659(1985)114<590:mpoacj>2.0.co;2
Subject(s) - gadus , fishery , atlantic cod , biology , predation , juvenile , cannibalism , estuary , population , ecology , fish <actinopterygii> , demography , sociology
In March‐April 1983, 2.5 × 10 6 yolk‐sac Atlantic cod larvae were released in a dammed estuarine pond. One month later, more than half a million metamorphosed. The larvae and metamorphosed juveniles depleted the natural food supply by mid‐May, but the fish accepted small pellets containing 30% krill meal dispensed from automatic feeders. From mid‐June, young Atlantic cod primarily ate the pellets, supplemented with minor amounts of wild calanoid and harpacticoid copepods. The population declined during summer probably due to cannibalism and predation from birds. No outbreaks of disease were observed, and infestation with parasites (nematodes) was less than 20%. Altogether, 75,000 juvenile Atlantic cod were captured alive from late May to October. By October, about 20,000 15‐cm‐long juveniles were tagged and released in the Austevoll region in a first attempt to augment the fishery for Atlantic cod.