Density-Dependent Growth of Age 1 English Sole (Parophrys vetuls) in Oregon and Washington Coastal Waters

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Abstract
We tested whether English sole (Parophrys vetulus) in Oregon and Washington [USA] waters show density-dependent growth. We found that there is a significant negative effect of cohort abundance on annual growth rate of age 1 fish, but not on growth of ages 2-7. Unlike most similar studies of density dependence, this result was not confounded by time trends in abundance and growth. The multiple regression of age 1 growth on cohort abundance and temperature accounted for 91% of the interannual variation in growth, which was a significant increase in r2 over that of the previously published relation with temperature alone. However, stock assessments which take into account only the previously published temperature effect on growth for this stock will probably not seriously overestimate the impact of management regulations which increase cohort abundance.

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