Growth of Baltic salmon Salmo salar in the sea

Aspects of the growth of Baltic salmon Salmo salar L. are discussed. Results are mainly based on about 210 000 reports of recaptured salmon out of 1.7 million tagged smolts released between 1953 and 1980 from Swedish hatcheries. Tagged and unmarked salmon seem to have equal survival and growth rates...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Marine ecology. Progress series (Halstenbek) 1984-01, Vol.17 (3), p.215-226
Main Author: Larsson, P.O
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Age structure
Animal age determination
animal physiology
aquatic organisms
Biological and medical sciences
Development. Metamorphosis. Moult. Ageing
Fish feeding
Fish scales
Fisheries
Freshwater fishes
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Marine
Marine fishes
RESEARCH PAPERS
Salmo Salar
Salmon
Salmon smolt
Seas
Vertebrates: anatomy and physiology, studies on body, several organs or systems
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Summary:Aspects of the growth of Baltic salmon Salmo salar L. are discussed. Results are mainly based on about 210 000 reports of recaptured salmon out of 1.7 million tagged smolts released between 1953 and 1980 from Swedish hatcheries. Tagged and unmarked salmon seem to have equal survival and growth rates in the Baltic Sea, and so do a wild and a hatchery stock compared in one river. Results should therefore be representative for the main part of the Baltic salmon population of which 70 % now are of hatchery-reared origin. During the period in question no clear trend in growth rate can be seen. Driftnet selectivity in the dominating offshore fishery for feeding fish, mainly working during the second winter in the sea when salmon reach catchable size, is shown to affect strongly size at higher ages. Comparisons with older data are therefore difficult to make. However, it is clear that growth rates of southern stocks have increased and those of the more numerous northern river stocks have decreased during the last 50 yr. This is believed to have been caused by changed environmental, rather than genetic, factors probably acting during early life in the sea. Individual variation in growth rate is large, and distributions of size at a certain age overlap between 3 age classes. Monthly mean weights of feeding salmon in the sea give a fairly good picture of growth but are influenced by gear selectivity and by spawning migrants leaving in spring being larger than average for their age class.
ISSN:0171-8630
1616-1599
DOI:10.3354/meps017215