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Research article2012Peer reviewed

Coastal migrations, temporary use of neighbouring rivers, and growth of sea trout (Salmo trutta) from nine northern Baltic Sea rivers

Degerman E, Leonardsson K, Lundqvist H

Abstract

The wild migratory trout (Salmo trutta) stocks in the northern Baltic Sea are threatened, and the fishery is thought to play a significant role in the population decline. Therefore, knowledge about the migration patterns of these stocks is needed to develop appropriate management plans. For this reason, we analysed the movement pattern from recaptures of mandatory releases of tagged hatcheryreared trout smolt from nine rivers in the region (1998-2007). The median time from release until recapture was 366 days, and the median migration distance at recapture was 27 km, with a dominating southward direction for northern stocks. Most of the recaptured fish were immature (65%), and recaptures in rivers (55%) dominated over recaptures along the coast (44%). Riverine recaptures were most frequent during autumn-spring. A total of 16% of all recaptures in rivers occurred in non-natal rivers. Straying was about twice as frequent among fish from small rivers as from large rivers. The results from the river Gidea¨lven indicate that using broodstock from other rivers in stocking programmes may lead to a high proportion of strayers. In addition, temporary use of neighbouring rivers was more frequent in large rivers during winter. Growth, in terms of length increment, was high, especially in fish from southern parts of the Baltic, and higher than in neighbouring warmer and more saline sea areas.

Published in

ICES Journal of Marine Science
2012, Volume: 69, number: 6, pages: 971-980