Age and Growth of Northern Shrimp Pandalus borealis off Northeastern Newfoundland and Southern Labrador

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Abstract
Growth of northern shrimp Pandalus borealis in the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization''s statistical division 3K is described with data from studies of larval growth, sizes of juveniles found in the stomachs of Atlantic cod Gadus morhua, and size groups of adults collected during resource surveys. The results indicated that larvae grow slowly off Labrador, requiring 4 to 5 months to pass through five larval stages. Analysis of Atlantic cod stomachs provided four estimates of length at age for juveniles from 3.7 to 13.2 mm mean carapace length for 7-31 months. These estimates were not evident from research trawl survey data. The latter provided estimates for an additional four age-groups of adult males and females, based on size and maturity stages. Although a detailed growth model could not be constructed due to a lack of information on moulting frequency, a von Bertalanffy growth equation was fitted to the mean length and age data. The resulting parameters are discussed in relation to the adequacy of the model and limitations of the data. Finally, based on the interpretation of growth presented here, it appears that some previous estimates of growth rates obtained for this species from length frequency data might have been overestimated.

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