Hunt et al : Movement of Gadus morhiia in the Gulf of Maine area 



849 



recaptured in 4Xo. Cod tagged in 4Xo were from an 

 inshore area and may have been part of a local resi- 

 dent population. About 907^ of tags recovered in 4Xo 

 were from fish released in 4Xo and additional small 

 contributions were fi-om other Gulf of Maine locations. 



The largest number of releases was ft'om the Browns 

 Bank area and results indicate a wddespread dispersal 

 within the Gulf of Maine. The majority of recaptures 

 were from division 4X; substantial numbers of cod 

 moved to the inner Bay of Fundy and smaller num- 

 bers moved east to 4Xn and 4Xo. About 'iy/c of cod 

 released in 4Xp were recaptured in the same area. 

 Movement into Divisions 5Y and 5Z accounted for 

 about 157f of the total releases. Of cod recaptured in 

 4Xp, about SO'/f originated from the same area, 21^/c 

 from 5Yb, and about Vi% originated from the Georges 

 Bank area. Differences between immigi'ation and emi- 

 gration distributions may be due to seasonal patterns 

 and commercial fishing operations. The Browns Bank 

 area has been closed to commercial fishing during the 

 winter spawning season and there is a low probabil- 

 ity of capture during this time. Cod recaptured dur- 

 ing the summer-fall fishing season may represent 

 postspawning dispersal patterns. 



In 4Xq, all three of the recaptures were taken in 

 4Xo. However, cod caught in 4Xq appeared to origi- 

 nate from diverse locations including 39''r from 5Yb, 

 28% from Browns Bank, 20% from the inner Bay of 

 Fundy, and 10% from Georges Bank. 



50 



40 - 



_ 30 



20 



10 



a 



I 



Adjusted for 

 fistiing effort 



/ 



Unadjusted 



II 



a^ 



^^j^ 



ij- 



in u^ in 



Unit area of recapture 



Figure 5 



Comparison of percent recaptures by unit areas for Browns 

 Bank releases using observed and effort-adjusted tag 

 recoveries. 



Unit area 4Xs and 4Xr represent the inner Bay of 

 Fundy region. Movement of cod appears to occur into 

 and out of the region as well as across the Bay from 

 the Nova Scotia to New Brunswick sides. Over 75% 

 of recaptured cod released in these areas were re- 



