Effect of winter food deprivation on growth and sexual maturity of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) in seawater

Abstract

By identifying individual Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) smolts (age 1+, mean weight 95 g), a tank study with four treatments (n = 175 fish per tank) indicated that maturation as grilse is associated with changes in somatic growth over many months, from July of the first summer in seawater onwards. The grilse rate in both sexes was associated with a relatively high condition factor from July onwards, but was independent of fork length. Food deprivation in either early winter (November-December, 8.2-4.1°C), late winter (February-April, 0.7-4.0°C), or both early and late winter (double deprived) reduced the female grilse rate (p < 0.01) to 4, 7, and 2% versus 18% in the control, whereas male grilse rate was reduced by a lesser degree (p > 0.05), 43, 39, and 33% versus 44% in the control. Mean condition factor among both maturing and immature fish decreased by a similar degree due to food deprivation but from spring onwards increased by a faster rate among incipient grilse. In a large experiment in four sea cages (each n = 3885 fish) using similar food deprivation treatments, the reduction in grilse rate was statistically significant in both sexes: among males, 28-36 versus 43% in the control; among females, 3-4 versus 6% in the control.