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Larval and juvenile growth of chub mackerel Scomber japonicus in relation to recruitment in the western North Pacific

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Abstract

To detect indices of recruitment intensity of the Pacific stock of chub mackerel Scomber japonicus, the relationship between the growth rate during early life and recruitment variability and the effects of temperature on annual change of the growth rate were examined. Growth-trajectories in larval and juvenile stages were back-calculated by otolith microstructure analysis using juveniles collected in the Kuroshio–Oyashio transition region of the western North Pacific in May and June from 2002 to 2011. A total of 532 otoliths were analysed. Hatch dates were distributed from mid-March to mid-May and most chub mackerel hatched in April. Mean daily growth rates ± standard deviation (SD) of the April cohort in larval and juvenile stages ranged between 1.03 ±0.10 (2006) and 1.52 ±0.23 mm day−1 (2009). The mean daily growth rate and larval stage duration were significantly related to recruitment which had been estimated by virtual population analysis. The results indicated the growth rate of the April cohort was an important index of year-class strength. There was a significant correlation between sea surface temperature experienced by each fish and the mean daily growth rate during the larval period. Higher water temperature led to faster growth and shorter larval stage duration of the April cohort of the Pacific stock of chub mackerel.

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Acknowledgments

We thank K. Mori and H. Nishida of the Fisheries Agency, S. Honda and H. Kubota of the Fisheries Research Agency of Japan (FRA), T. Kaga of the Hokkaido National Fisheries Research Institute, FRA, and members of the National Research Institute of Fisheries Science, FRA, for their help with fish sampling and otolith analyses. We are grateful to the captain, officers and crews of the training vessel Hokuho-Maru and the research vessel Soyo-Maru for helping with collection and measurement. We thank Japan Scientific Texts for English proofreading. Three anonymous reviewers provided valuable comments on the manuscript. This research was financially supported by the Fisheries Agency and FRA of Japan.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Research Institute of Fisheries Science, Fisheries Research Agency, 2-12-4 Fukuura, Kanazawa, Yokohama, Kanagawa, 236-8648, Japan

    Yasuhiro Kamimura, Chikako Watanabe & Atsushi Kawabata

  2. National Research Institute of Fisheries and Environment of Inland Sea, Fisheries Research Agency, 2-17-5, Maruishi, Hatsukaichi, Hiroshima, 739-0452, Japan

    Masanori Takahashi

  3. Hokkaido National Fisheries Research Institute, Fisheries Research Agency, 116 Katsurakoi, Kushiro, Hokkaido, 085-0802, Japan

    Norio Yamashita

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  1. Yasuhiro Kamimura
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  2. Masanori Takahashi
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  4. Chikako Watanabe
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  5. Atsushi Kawabata
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Correspondence to Yasuhiro Kamimura.

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Kamimura, Y., Takahashi, M., Yamashita, N. et al. Larval and juvenile growth of chub mackerel Scomber japonicus in relation to recruitment in the western North Pacific. Fish Sci 81, 505–513 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12562-015-0869-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12562-015-0869-4

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