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Many recent studies have stressed density-dependent regulation mechanisms in oscillating vendace (Coregonus albula) populations. Long-term studies on the population dynamics of vendace have been hampered by the difficulty of obtaining reliable estimates of year-class sizes. Data collected from Lake Pyhäjärvi (Southwest Finland) during 1971–91 allowed relatively accurate analysis of vendace abundance changes. In the winters of 1979–91, daily catch statistics were collected from professional fishermen. Species, age, and size composition were analysed from regular catch samples. We estimated the size of the vendace population from the decrease in the CPUE during 10 winters. For the remaining 10 years, estimates were based on the relationship between the numbers of a year-class in autumn and mean individual growth rate. A 2-yr cycle was the most conspicuous feature of the data implying density-dependent regulation. We suggest that in Lake Pyhäjärvi the basic model producing a persistent 2-yr cycle is the asymmetrical food competition between age groups.

Previous time series analysis on vendace population dynamics in Lake Pyhäjärvi, 1971–1990, revealed a 2‐year cycle in year‐class strength, implying powerful density‐dependent regulation. Here we have extended this analysis by using multiple regression models to test whether the recruitment series is influenced by density‐independent factors. We chose population size with a lag of 1 year as the density‐dependent factor; the density‐independent factors were the summer water temperature with a lag of 2 years (temperature sum for June, July and August, indicating the year‐class strength of predators) and the temperature‐derived length of the larval period of vendace. For the years 1972–1990 the coefficient of determination (r2) of this regression model was 0·77. We suggest that the basic mechanism producing a persistent 2‐year cycle of vendace in Lake Pyhäjärvi is the asymmetrical food competition between age groups. The abundance of predators in the lake and the warming of the water after the hatching of larvae in spring together determine the final year‐class strength of vendace.

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In 1989-1998, vendace larvae Coregonus albula were sampled in Finnish lakes following a stratified random sampling design. The abundance of young-of-the-year vendace after the first growing season was estimated using catch-per-unit-effort statistics. The number or total area of nursery places hardly limited the recruitment of vendace in the study lakes. The major proportion of prerecruit mortality of vendace occurred in the larval phase and larval sampling produced significant information on young-of-the-year survival. Although larval abundances and recruitment were clearly associated only in Lake Onkamo, generally high larval abundance was needed to produce high number of recruits. 2000 The Fisheries Society of the British Isles