Predicting density-dependent somatic growth in Norwegian spring-spawning herring
Stenevik, Erling Kåre; Hølleland, Sondre Nedreås; Enberg, Katja; Høines, Åge Sigurd; Slotte, Aril; Salthaug, Are; Vatnehol, Sindre; Aanes, Sondre
Peer reviewed, Journal article
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Date
2022Metadata
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Abstract
Density-dependent growth, which might influence the effects of fisheries on a population, is often ignored when management strategies are evaluated, mainly due to a lack of appropriate models readily available to be implemented. To improve on this, we investigated if somatic growth in Norwegian spring-spawning herring (Clupea harengus) depends on cohort density using a formulation of the von Bertalanffy growth function on cohorts from 1921 to 2014 and found a significant negative correlation between estimated asymptotic length and density. This clearly indicates density-dependent effects on growth, and we propose a model that can be used to predict the size-at-age of Norwegian spring-spawning herring as a function of herring density (the abundance of two successive cohorts) in short-term predictions of catch advice, and in Management strategy evaluations, including estimation of their reference points such as FMSY.