Fecundity of Grand Bank Haddock

Abstract

The fecundity of Grand Bank haddock was investigated from 229 specimens collected during the early springs of 1957–61. It was found that fecundity increased at a rate proportional to about the fifth power of the body length and to the square of the age, the correlations between fecundity and length and between fecundity and weight being better than that between fecundity and age. Within any age-group fecundity was found to increase with length. Since the larger fish of an age-group are the first to mature, it is suggested that fecundity of individual fish may be more directly related to the number of times that the fish has spawned than to such parameters as length, weight or age. Certain differences in fecundity, found between the samples of the individual years, are discussed in relation to such environmental conditions as temperature in so far as it determines the degree of haddock concentration (thus affecting the food supply) at certain times which are probably critical during the early development and maturation of the ova.