Conserving genetic diversity in animal populations is important for sustaining their ability to respond to environmental change. However, the “between-population” component of genetic diversity (biocomplexity) is threatened in many exploited populations, particularly marine fish, where harvest management regions may be larger than the spatial extent of genetically distinct subpopulations. Using single-nucleotide polymorphism data, we delineated the geographic limits of three population units of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) in northwest European waters. Two of the populations cohabit the North Sea, and trawl survey data showed differing trends in their abundances. We developed a spatial model of these units to simulate population dynamics under spatial patterns of harvesting. Competition between units during the pelagic juvenile stages in the model led to suppression of the more localized northern North Sea (Viking) unit by the more widespread (Dogger) unit, and its premature extinction under some spatial patterns of fishing. Fishery catch limits for cod are set at the scale of the whole North Sea without regard to such subpopulation dynamics. Our model offers a method to quantify adjustments to regional fishing mortality rates to strike a balance between maximizing sustainable yield and conserving vulnerable populations.

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Previous studies of the ESTD* isozyme locus in the Atlantic salmon show the *80 allele to be absent across the species' European range, with the exception of northern Russia, whereas the allele is nearly fixed in North American populations. The allele was found in samples from 15 out of 18 rivers on the Kola Peninsula and White sea coast and had frequencies that ranged from 0Á017 to 0Á363. Typing of fish in nine of these rivers for mtDNA variation in the ND1 gene region found variation characteristic of North American salmon in three Kola Peninsula populations and is the only part of Europe where such variants have been detected. The study area was completely glaciated during the late Pleistocene period and the restriction of the European distribution of these ESTD* and mtDNA variants to this area suggests that salmon that colonized the Russian Arctic coast rivers included fish of North American origin after the Pleistocene glacier had retreated. # 2005 The Fisheries Society of the British Isles

The timing of maturation in haddock Melanogrammus aeglefinus was examined using changes in gonad development, follicle stimulating hormone β (FSH-β) transcript expression profile, growth and condition of 1 year old females held under a common environment between the summer and winter solstices. The circumnuclear ring, cortical alveolus and vitellogenic oocyte stages were first observed in August, October and November, respectively. FSH-β transcript levels did not change significantly until September but increased markedly thereafter in maturing fish. A combined analysis of the mean oocyte diameter of the leading cohort, histological staging and FSH-β transcript profile provided evidence of a commitment to maturation by October or November. Contrary to that previously proposed for gadoid species, histological analysis of field-caught immature M. aeglefinus during the spawning season indicated that cortical alveolar, rather than circumnuclear ring, stage oocytes provided definitive evidence of maturation. A decrease in relative liver size following the summer solstice suggested a possible link between energy status and maturation.

2005. Novel DNA markers for rapid, accurate, and cost-effective discrimination of the continental origin of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.). e ICES Journal of Marine Science, 62: 1609e1616.Salmon from geographically representative rivers in North America and Europe were typed for variation at the microsatellite locus SS1 and the mitochondrial DNA ND-1 restriction site 3971, using PCR amplification and agarose-gel electrophoresis. North American salmon showed near-fixation for SS1 alleles between 129 and 135 bp in length and the N mtDNA restriction type, while European salmon near-fixation for SS1 alleles between 183 and 219 bp and the A/D mtDNA type. Based on the observed variant frequencies, using these two markers in combination is predicted to give correct assignment of O99.5% of salmon to continent-of-origin. As both these continental markers can be screened by agarose-gel electrophoresis, their use offers a more rapid, cheaper, and simpler method for accurate assignment of Atlantic salmon to continent-of-origin than do existing methods. These markers can be applied to the identification of salmon in North Atlantic high-seas fisheries, in aquaculture stocks, and in rivers to determine the continent-of-origin of fish-farm escapes.Crown

Nash, R. D. M., Wright, P. J., Matejusova, I., Dimitrov, S. P., O'Sullivan, M., Augley, J., and Höffle, H. 2012. Spawning location of Norway pout (Trisopterus esmarkii Nilsson) in the North Sea. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 69: . The northern region of the North Sea (56–62°N) was sampled in February/March 2009 for eggs and in May 2010 for larvae. To aid in the identification of Norway pout stage I eggs and distinguish them from other ‘cod-like’ eggs, a Taq-Man probe was designed for this species and used here. Stage I Norway pout egg diameters collected from the field were in the range 1.03–1.28 mm and largely overlapped with the size range determined for whiting (Merlangius merlangus). The distribution of Norway pout stage I eggs in 2009 revealed the distribution of spawning in the North Sea and showed that it was similar to the distribution of 2 + Norway pout taken during the International Bottom Trawl Surveys (IBTS) over the same period covering the whole North Sea. The larvae sampled in 2010 were largely in the same area; however, larger larvae occurred to the south-east of the survey area, suggesting advection of young stages from the principal spawning areas in the north-western North Sea to the south-east and toward the Skagerrak.

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