Post-escape dispersal of juvenile Atlantic cod Gadus morhua from Norwegian fish farms and their potential for recapture

The escape of fish from sea-based aquaculture facilities is regarded as a potential environmental threat and is one of the biggest challenges the industry has faced in recent years. In addition to preventing escapes by improving farming operations and procedures, effective and operational routines a...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Aquaculture Environment Interactions 2013-01, Vol.3 (2), p.107-116
Main Authors: Serra-Llinares, R. M., Nilsen, R., Uglem, I., Arechavala-Lopez, P., Bjørn, P. A., Noble, C.
Format: Article
Language:English
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The escape of fish from sea-based aquaculture facilities is regarded as a potential environmental threat and is one of the biggest challenges the industry has faced in recent years. In addition to preventing escapes by improving farming operations and procedures, effective and operational routines are needed for recapturing fish should an escape occur. This study investigated the post-escape dispersal of juvenile Atlantic cod Gadus morhua L. from commercial sea cages in coastal Norway using acoustic telemetry. It also assessed the efficacy of different techniques (e.g. cod pots, fyke nets, and gill nets) for recapturing escaped fish. Results suggest that escaped juvenile cod can experience a high size-related predation pressure immediately after escape due to high numbers of large fish aggregating around the cages. Consequently, the escapees rapidly disperse from the farms and seek shelter in littoral areas. Once in shallower waters, they stay relatively close (
ISSN:1869-215X
1869-7534
DOI:10.3354/aei00051