Decadal Changes in Growth and Recruitment of Pacific Halibut (Hippoglossus stenolepsis

The effects of the 1976-77 climate regime shift in the North Pacific Ocean on Pacific halibut population dynamics were studied. The nature and timing of halibut stock shifts and the current understanding of climate regime shifts are described. Alternative hypotheses about the effects of climate and...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Canadian journal of fisheries and aquatic sciences 1999-02, Vol.56 (2), p.242-242
Main Authors: Clark, William G, Hare, Steven R, Parma, Ana M, Sullivan, Patrick J, Trumble, Robert J
Format: Article
Language:English
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The effects of the 1976-77 climate regime shift in the North Pacific Ocean on Pacific halibut population dynamics were studied. The nature and timing of halibut stock shifts and the current understanding of climate regime shifts are described. Alternative hypotheses about the effects of climate and other factors on halibut are considered. Changes in stock management in response to population shifts are discussed. The recent, sustained high level of recruitment at high levels of spawning biomass has erased the previous appearance of strong density dependence in the stock-recruitment relationship. Target full-recruitment harvest rates were reduced from 30%-35% to 20%-25%. Other vertebrate and invertebrate responses to the climate regime shift occurred as well, but biological mechanisms responsible for these shifts have not been identified.
ISSN:0706-652X