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Impact of deep-sea fishery for Greenland halibut

Date:
January 28, 2014
Source:
Technical University of Denmark (DTU)
Summary:
Since the late 1980s, a deep-sea fishery for Greenland halibut Reinhardtius hippoglossoides has been developing gradually in West Greenland. Deep-sea fish species are generally long-lived and characterized by late age of maturity, low fecundity, and slow growth, features that probably cause low resilience following overexploitation.
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Since the late 1980s, a deep-sea fishery for Greenland halibut (Reinhardtius hippoglossoides) has been developing gradually in West Greenland.

Deep-sea fish species are generally long-lived and characterized by late age of maturity, low fecundity, and slow growth, features that probably cause low resilience following overexploitation. In order to evaluate whether populations of nine potential bycatch species are negatively affected by the commercial fishery for Greenland halibut, scientific data from bottom-trawl surveys conducted in the same area and period as the commercial fishery were analysed.

During the period 1988-2011, population abundance and size composition changed as catch and effort in the Greenland halibut fishery increased. Two species showed a significant decrease in abundance, and four populations showed a significant reduction in mean weight of individuals (p < 0.05).

Correlation analyses show that most of the observed trends in abundance are probably not related to increasing fishing effort for Greenland halibut.

The analysis did, however, show that most of the observed decreases in mean weight were significantly correlated with fishing effort during the 24-year period.


Story Source:

Materials provided by Technical University of Denmark (DTU). Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


Journal Reference:

  1. O. A. Jorgensen, F. Bastardie, O. R. Eigaard. Impact of deep-sea fishery for Greenland halibut (Reinhardtius hippoglossoides) on non-commercial fish species off West Greenland. ICES Journal of Marine Science, 2014; DOI: 10.1093/icesjms/fst191

Cite This Page:

Technical University of Denmark (DTU). "Impact of deep-sea fishery for Greenland halibut." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 28 January 2014. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/01/140128094535.htm>.
Technical University of Denmark (DTU). (2014, January 28). Impact of deep-sea fishery for Greenland halibut. ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 28, 2024 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/01/140128094535.htm
Technical University of Denmark (DTU). "Impact of deep-sea fishery for Greenland halibut." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/01/140128094535.htm (accessed March 28, 2024).

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