Tagging of saithe (Pollachius virens L.) at a Norwegian fish farm : preliminary results on migration

Abstract

Wild fish, particularly saithe (Pollachius virens L.) are commonly observed in the vicinity of fish farm sea cages on the Norwegian west coast and the fish are known to feed on excess salmon food pellets. To investigate residence time at the farm site and subsequent migration pattern, saithe were tagged and released once monthly during the period Nov 1990 to Nov 1991 at the sea cage facility of the Austevoll Marine Research Station, near Bergen, Norway. A total of 2607 saithe were tagged. Preliminary results from tag recoveries show that the saithe can stay in the vicinity of the farm cages for several months before offshore migration to the North Sea, Shetland, Faroe Islands and Iceland.