Fishery characteristics of barfin flounder Verasper moseri in southern Tohoku, the major spawning ground, after the start of large-scale stock enhancement in Hokkaido, Japan
文摘
Commercial landings of a rare pleuronectid flatfish, barfin flounder Verasper moseri, recovered drastically after large-scale stock enhancement in Hokkaido?conducted?since 2006. This study investigated commercial landings, fishing grounds, size distributions, and sex and age compositions of barfin flounder during 2007-011 in southern Tohoku, their major spawning ground, which is over 700?km south of Hokkaido. Landings, mostly comprising stocked fish, increased drastically in southern Tohoku: from 2.0?tons in 2007 to 20.8?tons in 2010. Over 98?% of them were landed during January–April, with the peak period during February–March. Fishing logbook data of offshore bottom-trawl vessels during 2007-010 revealed the upper continental slope off southernmost Tohoku as the main fishing ground (35°40′-6°50′N, annual weighted mean depth 267-99?m). Two size modes in the landings consisted of males (ca. 40?cm) and females (ca. 60?cm). The main age at fishery recruitment in southern Tohoku was younger for males (age 2+) than for females (ages 3+ and 4+), the result of which was that the female percentage was lowest at 1.5?% in 2009 and highest at 7.9?% in 2011. Our results showed clearly how the effectiveness of large-scale stock enhancement in Hokkaido extended to southern Tohoku in association with spawning migration of stocked barfin flounder.