584 



Fishery Bulletin 91(3). 1993 



Results 



Approximately 120 hours of daylight and 170 hours of 

 nighttime lingcod tracking were conducted between 7 

 October and 23 December 1991 (Table 1). Seven ex- 

 perimental fish were released at Yeo Island (fish Yl- 

 Y7) and six experimental fish at Amelia Island (fish 

 A1-A6). There were an additional four control fish (fish 

 C1-C4). Based on size, most tagged lingcod were esti- 

 mated to be sexually immature and 2-3 years of age. 

 Lingcod from this area mature over a size range of 50- 

 62 cm for males and 60-67 cm for females (Richards et 

 al., 1990). The largest male and female lingcod used in 

 the study had lengths of 58 and 62 cm, respectively. 



Seven of the 13 experimental lingcod left the study 

 area at least 7 days prior to their transmitter expiry 

 dates (Table 1). We termed these lingcod as "transients" 

 and the remaining experimental lingcod as "residents." 

 Resident and control lingcod could be detected in the 

 study area until their transmitter expiry dates. With 

 the exception of fish Y2, transient lingcod were last 

 observed 2-7 days after release. By contrast, most resi- 

 dent lingcod could be located in the study area after 

 28 days. Control fish were recorded after even longer 

 periods. For example, fish CI (V3-5HI tag) was ob- 

 served after 50 days. Similarly, fish C3 (V2B-2L tag) 

 was observed after 40 days. All the control fish were 



located in shallow water (depth of approximately 20 m) 

 and maintained relatively constant positions over the 

 course of the study. 



The amount of time spent in the holding tank did 

 not appear to affect the tendency of experimental ling- 

 cod to leave or remain in the study area. Lingcod in 

 transient and resident groups did not differ signifi- 

 cantly in the number of days held before release 

 ( Wilcoxon rank sum test, P>0.10). However, fish length 

 (P<0.05) and weight (P<0.01) did differ significantly 

 between transient and resident groups of lingcod 

 (Wilcoxon rank sum test). Although sample size was 

 too small to consider sex or transmitter size effects, 

 both sexes and transmitter sizes were represented in 

 each experimental group. 



In general, individual tracks were similar for ling- 

 cod in the transient group and in the resident group. 

 For example, Fish Y2 (transient) was released at the 

 south side of Yeo Island, moved counter clockwise 

 around Yeo Island, travelled southwest to Vancouver 

 Island, and then returned to the release site in 5 days 

 (Fig. 1). Fish Y2 remained within 0.5 km of the release 

 site over the next 2 days where it was observed by 

 SCUBA divers. For the next 10 days, fish Y2 could not 

 be detected in the study area. It was then found south 

 of Yeo Island, moved 7 km west, and left the study 

 area 19 days after release. Fish A2 (resident) was re- 



