Tagging results from the 2000-2004 federal experimental fishery for Atlantic halibut (Hippoglossus hippoglossus) in the eastern Gulf of Maine

Abstract

Tagging results from five years of a federal experimental Atlantic halibut fishery in the eastern Gulf of Maine are presented in this paper. These data show both localized movements within the study area and long-distance emigrations of juveniles. Twenty-eight percent of the recoveries from this study were made in Canadian waters, demonstrating an interchange between fish in the Gulf of Maine and those considered part of the Scotian Shelf/Southern Grand Banks stock unit. The predominance of long-distance, northeastward movement of juveniles poses the question of compensatory emigration in response to the predicted southwestward drift of eggs and larvae.