Fecundity Studies on Atlantic Herring from the Southern Gulf of St. Lawrence and along the Nova Scotia Coast

Abstract

Abstract Fecundity estimates were made on 428 mature herring (Clupea harengus harengus L.) (maturation stages 4 and 5) collected from the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence and the Nova Scotia coast. Estimates ranged from 23,000 to 261,000 eggs per female. Fecundity increased exponentially with the fish length and weight at different rates for different herring stocks. Values of the exponent ranged between 3.7–5.3 and 1.1–1.6 for length and weight, respectively. Results of regression analyses showed that fecundity depended more on fish weight and length than on age. Fecundity of spring-spawning herring was significantly lower than that of autumn spawners, but the differences between areas were not significant. The lower fecundity of spring spawners was associated with an increase in their egg weight. An index relating fecundity to the cube of fish length was used in an attempt to identify different sttocks. The separation between spring- and autumn-spawning groups was distinct, but the different stocks within ...