Growth and maturation of haddock (Melanogrammus aeglefinus) in Icelandic waters

Growth and maturation of haddock (Melanogrammus aeglefinus), in Icelandic waters have shown considerable spatial and temporal variation in the past several decades. After 1988 haddock have matured much earlier than in earlier decades and haddock in some areas appear to mature young and also show stunted growth. The paper compares possible reasons for this phenomenon and evaluates different models of the growth-maturation process through the use of otolith radii and length-at-age as well as biological samples from groundfish surveys and commercial cathes. It is found that there is considerable spatial and temporal variation in growth and maturity. Some of the variability may be due to some form of competition among year-classes whereas there are also indications of link between growth and maturation in certain areas.