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Multi-torsking: simultaneous measurements of cod behaviour show differences between North Sea and Irish Sea stocks

  • Chapter
Aquatic Telemetry

Part of the book series: Developments in Hydrobiology ((DIHY,volume 165))

Abstract

Fish behaviour can vary considerably in response to environmental and biological conditions. We used electronic Data Storage Tags (DSTs) to investigate the behaviour of cod in different environments; 74 North Sea cod and 20 Irish Sea cod were tagged and released in late-March 1999. So far, 32 tags (>2000 days of data) have been returned from the North Sea and four (>700 days) from the Irish Sea. The maximum recorded depth of a North Sea cod was 84 m, while Irish Sea cod utilised a depth range of 154 m. Active depth changes were of greater magnitude and rate in Irish Sea cod than North Sea cod. In addition, Irish Sea cod were continually active and made proportionally more active depth changes than North Sea cod, which were very active during migration (March—June) but exhibited little vertical movement during the summer months. To our knowledge, this is the first time that the behaviour patterns of cod from different stocks have been measured simultaneously over extended periods at such a fine temporal scale. In addition to describing considerable inter-stock differences in behaviour, our results suggest that while cod in the Irish Sea remain active and highly mobile throughout the year, North Sea cod reduce their movements during the summer feeding period. Our findings will contribute to the development of more biologically realistic management models used for evaluating the efficacy of fisheries technical measures, such as closed areas.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. CEFAS Laboratory, Pakefield Road, Lowestoft, Suffolk, NR33 OHT, UK

    David Righton & Julian Metcalfe

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  1. David Righton
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  2. Julian Metcalfe
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, Trondheim, Norway

    Eva B. Thorstad  & Tor Fredrik Næsje  & 

  2. Coastal Oregon Marine Experiment Station and Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Oregon State University, Newport, USA

    Ian A. Fleming

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© 2002 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht

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Righton, D., Metcalfe, J. (2002). Multi-torsking: simultaneous measurements of cod behaviour show differences between North Sea and Irish Sea stocks. In: Thorstad, E.B., Fleming, I.A., Næsje, T.F. (eds) Aquatic Telemetry. Developments in Hydrobiology, vol 165. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-0771-8_22

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-0771-8_22

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-90-481-6124-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-017-0771-8

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