Abstract
Six biochemical indicators of protein synthesis rate and of metabolic rate in white muscle (RNA concentration expressed as mg RNA g-l muscle, pg RNA mg-' protein and mg RNA mg-' DNA; and the activities of the enzymes citrate synthase, cytochrome oxidase and lactate dehydrogenase) were measured in individual saithe Pollachus virens caught withln the Beryl Oilfield in the North Sea on 4 different occasions over a period of 1 yr. These biochemical parameters were compared with values obtained from laboratory growth experiments in order to estimate growth rates of the offshore fish. Seasonal patterns of growth rate were observed for all of these parameters and all indicated higher growth rates in the summer. Mean estimates of growth rate from RNA concentration, RNA:protein, RNA:DNA and citrate synthase activities for each group (i.e. fish caught at the same location and at the same time) were not significantly different. In addition, condition factor (K) , caecal-somatic index (CSI) and gall-bladder-liver index (GLI) indicated that feeding/growth rates were highest in summer and lowest in winter. Comparisons between fish caught in the Beryl Oilfield in August 1988 and a sample caught in open sea water above a submerged wreck during the same period, suggested that the fish found around the oil platforms had similar growth rates to those in the open sea.
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