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Growth and fatness of 1975–2002 year classes of Japanese sardine in the Pacific waters around northern Japan

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Abstract

We examined individual growth and fatness in the 1975–2002 year classes of Japanese sardine. Samples were collected at the feeding grounds in the Pacific waters off northern Japan during drastic fluctuations in the population in the 1970s to 2000s. Growth rates for ages 1–3 of the 1979–1988 year classes, which included low-recruitment year classes subsisting during the high population levels of the 1980s, were apparently slower than for other year classes. There was no obvious trend when comparing year classes, growth during the first year of life (age 0), and maximum body length (BL) at age ≥5. The condition factors (CF, indicating fatness) for adult sardines of BL ≥19 cm in the 1979–1983 year classes during the maximum population level of the mid-1980s were significantly lower than for other year classes. However, there were no apparent trends in CF variations for small sardines of BL <19 cm. The apparent decreases in growth rate and fatness were strongly related to the cumulative sum of population abundance that each year class experienced. It is thought that insufficient food owing to the density-dependent effect of an abundant population at feeding grounds resulted in a decrease in the growth rate for small-bodied sardines that are investing their energy intake in body growth, and a decrease in fatness for large-bodied adults that are accumulating fat for the next reproduction.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank the editor and two anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments and suggestions. We also thank Ms. J. Momosawa, Ms. N. Kubo, Mr. M. Kawamura and other staff at the Tohoku National Fisheries Research Institute for their assistance and support in this study. This study was funded by the Program of Marine Fisheries Stock Assessment and Evaluation for Japanese Waters from the Fisheries Agency of Japan. This paper is a contribution to the Study for the Prediction and Control of Population Outbreak in Marine Life in Relation to Environmental Change (POMAL) of the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Research Council (AFFRC).

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Authors and Affiliations

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

    Atsushi Kawabata

  2. Japan Fisheries Information Service Center, 4-5 Toyomi-cho, Chuo-ku, Tokyo, 104-0055, Japan

    Hirotsune Yamaguchi

  3. Tohoku National Fisheries Research Institute, Fisheries Research Agency, Japan, 25-259 Shimomekurakubo, Samemachi, Hachinohe, Aomori, 031-0841, Japan

    Seigo Kubota & Masayasu Nakagami

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  1. Atsushi Kawabata
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  2. Hirotsune Yamaguchi
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  3. Seigo Kubota
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  4. Masayasu Nakagami
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Correspondence to Atsushi Kawabata.

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Kawabata, A., Yamaguchi, H., Kubota, S. et al. Growth and fatness of 1975–2002 year classes of Japanese sardine in the Pacific waters around northern Japan. Fish Sci 77, 291–299 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12562-011-0326-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12562-011-0326-y

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