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A Mark-Recapture Experiment on Queen Scallops, Aequ1Pecten Opercularis, on a North Irish Sea Fishing Ground

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 May 2009

E.H. Allison
Affiliation:
Port Erin Marine Laboratory, University of Liverpool, Port Erin, Isle of Man
A.R. Brand
Affiliation:
Port Erin Marine Laboratory, University of Liverpool, Port Erin, Isle of Man

Extract

A single-season mark-recapture experiment was carried out on queen scallops, Aequipecten opercularis (L.) (Bivalvia: Pectinidae) to assess the suitability of the technique for estimating population sizes and mortality rates of exploited populations. Tag-loss and tagging-induced mortality were 7.7% and 11.9% respectively. Non-reporting was negligible.

In a single fishing season (June-December 1989) 25.4% of releases were recaptured alive. Mean density of commercial-sized queens was estimated as 0.47 m−2 over the fishing ground. Instantaneous rates of total (Z), fishing (F) and-natural (M) mortality, calculated from the monthly decline of recaptures during the fishing season, were 0.;41,0.21 and 0.20 per month respectively. The calculated M is very high but includes non-yield or indirect fishing mortality. Analysis of the age-frequency distribution of queens from an adjacent, largely unexploited, area indicated an M of only 0.036 per month (0.43 y−1). There was some indication of an increase in M in older year classes, associated with senescence.

The mark-recapture methodology used here is suitable for this species, but single-release experiments place too much reliance on commercial catch-statistics.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 1995

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