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Marine and Freshwater Research Marine and Freshwater Research Society
Advances in the aquatic sciences
RESEARCH ARTICLE

Relationship between otolith chemistry and age in a widespread pelagic teleost Arripis trutta: influence of adult movements on stock structure and implications for management

Julian M. Hughes A B E , John Stewart A , Bronwyn M. Gillanders C , Damian Collins D and Iain M. Suthers B
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A New South Wales Department of Primary Industries, Sydney Institute of Marine Science, Building 19, Chowder Bay Road, Mosman, NSW 2088, Australia.

B Fisheries and Marine Environmental Research Facility, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia.

C Environment and Southern Seas Ecology Laboratories, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Adelaide, SA 5005, Australia.

D New South Wales Department of Primary Industries, Elizabeth Macarthur Agricultural Institute, Private Bag 4008, Narellan, NSW 2567, Australia.

E Corresponding author. Email: julian.hughes@dpi.nsw.gov.au

Marine and Freshwater Research 67(2) 224-237 https://doi.org/10.1071/MF14247
Submitted: 19 August 2014  Accepted: 27 January 2015   Published: 1 June 2015

Abstract

This study investigated how the stock structure of Arripis trutta is influenced by the movement of adult fish. Five-year-old fish were sampled from four regions in south-east Australia encompassing ~1500 km of coastline. Transverse otolith sections were analysed using laser-ablation inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry, providing age-related elemental profiles. Multivariate analyses showed that for most age groups, the elemental fingerprint of northern New South Wales (NSW) fish was significantly different from those of the other locations. Northern NSW fish also had a different fingerprint from those of all other locations for the first part of the fish’s life. These results indicate that most A. trutta originate in southern NSW, Victoria and Tasmania and move progressively northward with increasing age. Some recruitment occurs in northern NSW but these fish may not mix with immigrants from further south until they are more than 5 years old. When assessed with the strong latitudinal age gradient of the population, these data are consistent with a single, panmictic stock. The data also highlight the utility of otolith transect analysis in understanding the influence of age-related movements on stock structure and appropriate spatial management of exploited fish species.

Additional keywords: Arripidae, elemental fingerprint, laser-ablation inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry, movements, stock structure.


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