Tagging and recapture of Atlantic halibut ( Hippoglossus hippoglossus L.) on the Continental Shelves off Eastern Canada, and off Western and Eastern Greenland

Abstract

Earlier investigations on Atlantic halibut, (Hippoglossus hippoglossus L.), mostly from the eastern Atlantic Ocean, have shown that it is a migratory species with potential of mixing between stocks. This paper presents data from Norwegian tagging experiments carried out in the New-foundland/Labrador region and off the western and eastern coasts of Greenland in 1955-69, where 111,230 and 796 fish respectively were tagged. The recapture frequencies were 3.6 %,11.7 % and 16.0%, respectively, with most of the recaptures in the area of release. Considerable movements within each of the two main Greenland areas were observed, however, there was no dominant migration direction. This is in accordance with observations from other areas. Some movement of fish between the three regions was recorded, and two fish tagged off eastern Greenland were recaptured in Icelandic waters.