Stock identification of sympatric Atlantic cod populations in the Gulf of Maine and mixed stock fishery analysis using otolith-based techniques

Kerr, Lisa A.; Whitener, Zachary; Becker, Sarah; Goethel, David; Zemeckis, Douglas R.; Sherwood, Graham; Kovach, Adrienne I.; Cadrin, Steven X.

doi:10.1139/cjfas-2023-0159

i

Stock identification of sympatric Atlantic cod populations in the Gulf of Maine and mixed stock fishery analysis using otolith-based techniques

2025
By Kerr, Lisa A. ; Whitener, Zachary ; Becker, Sarah ; ...

Details

Journal Title:

Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
Personal Author:

Kerr, Lisa A. ; Whitener, Zachary ; Becker, Sarah ; Goethel, David ; Zemeckis, Douglas R. ; Sherwood, Graham ; Kovach, Adrienne I. ; Cadrin, Steven X.
NOAA Program & Office:

NMFS (National Marine Fisheries Service) ; NEFSC (Northeast Fisheries Science Center) ; CINAR (Cooperative Institute for the North Atlantic Region)
Description:

Sympatric populations of Atlantic cod with distinct spawning times in winter and spring have been identified within the Gulf of Maine. A new western Gulf of Maine stock assessment unit in U.S. waters lumps winter and spring spawning populations into a single stock unit and future monitoring and assessment of their abundance will require mixed stock analysis. The goal of this study was to evaluate the utility of otolith-based stock identification techniques to discriminate spawning populations. Significant differences in otolith structure and microchemistry were identified between winter and spring spawners with the highest degree of classification accuracy based on both features. Mixed stock analysis applied to fishery samples of unknown origin indicated the contemporary (2015–2016) commercial fishery is dominated by winter spawners. Exploratory classification of historical fishery samples suggested a change over time with spring and winter spawners present in near equal proportion in the early 1990s and winter spawners dominating in the early 1980s. Otolith-based stock composition analysis has the potential to support monitoring and assessment of cod populations in the Gulf of Maine.
Keywords:

Atlantic Cod Otoliths Atlantic Cod Mixed Stock Analysis Stock Structure
Source:

Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 82: 1–18 (2025)
DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1139/cjfas-2023-0159
Format:

PDF
Document Type:

Journal Article
Funding:

Grant no. NA14NMF4270014
Place as Subject:

Maine, Gulf of
License:

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Rights Information:

CC BY
Compliance:

Submitted
Main Document Checksum:

urn:sha-512:85c1ece9b7870caa515341c397c64d9c1a6a97c25499e1cc0fc9a7a6bf9905712a05a0dddb068f19a304f75484f1b07b8d88f3ee9f53ff195e97f36a192b7aaf
Download URL:

https://repository.library.noaa.gov/view/noaa/72310/noaa_72310_DS1.pdf
File Type:

[PDF - 2.45 MB ]

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