Drivers of growth in strong year classes of the deepwater redfish (Sebastes mentella) population from the Gulf of St. Lawrence derived from otolith increment-based growth chronologies.

ABSTRACT: The case of the deepwater redfish (Sebastes mentella) in the Gulf of St. Lawrence (GSL) is a compelling example of drastic fluctuations in annual recruitment strength, characteristic of spasmodic stocks. After three decades of low abundance, the emergence of three consecutive strong year classes in 2011-2013 resulted in an unprecedented increase in biomass. In spasmodic stocks such as GSL redfish, strong year classes sustain both the biomass and catch for decades. Therefore, understanding the growth dynamics of these cohorts is essential. In the present study, we reconstructed the annual growth rates of redfish using otolith increment-based annual chronology and investigated the drivers of growth variation in redfish strong year classes of the early 2010s and early 1980s. Stock biomass was

SUBMITTER: Coussau L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11650944 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature