Fróðskaparrit - 31.12.2000, Page 88

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REPRODUCTION OF FAROE PLATEAU COD:
SPAWNING GROUNDS. EGG ADVECTION AND LARVAL FEEDING
Fig. 2. Distribution of mature cod (tonnes per haul) on the Faroe Shelf during 24 February - 21 March 1995, and
26 February - 20 March 1999.
Mynd 2. Spjaðing av búnum toski (tons pr. tóv) á føroyska landgrunninum í tíðarskeiðinum 24. februar- 21. mars
1995 og 26. februar- 20. mars. 1999.
Results
Cod spawning
The spawning cod were concentrated in
two areas, one in the western shelf region
and one in the northern and north-western
regions (Fig. 2). In the eastern and south-
ern shelf regions, almost no mature cod
were found. The cod were concentrated
quite locally. The dots in Fig. 2 do not,
therefore, necessarily show all the areas
where mature cod were concentrated. Lo-
cal areas with high concentrations may be
missing. This may especially be the case at
the northern spawning ground, which
seems to cover a wider area than the west-
ern spawning ground.
The length of mature cod ranged mostly
between 45 and 85 cm (Fig. 3; Table 2). In
1995, the few cod that were located in the
eastern region were markedly smaller than
the cod in the northern and western regions
(the main spawning grounds). In 1999,
however, no length difference was seen be-
tween the regions. Mature cod in the main
spawning grounds were markedly larger in
1995 than in 1999 (Table 2).
The average maturity stage was quite
similar in the two years (see Discussion).
The variance (actually the maturity distrib-
ution) was, however, greater in 1995 com-
pared to 1999 (p<0.001), when almost all
mature fish had a maturity status of 6 (Table
3).