Growth curve modeling (GCM) and possible application in fish stock assessment.

No abstracts are to be cited without prior reference to the author.

A new analytical approach to fish growth dynamics (Growth curve modeling, GCM), has been developed at the Aquaculture Laboratory of the MRI in Iceland. GCM-modeling is based on the analysis of growth trajectory and links larval- to long term growth performance. The method was initially developed for Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) but can arguably be applied to all fish species, creating a new perspective on the underlying growth dynamics of fishes. GCM-modeling shows how the long-term growth potential can be traced back to the initial larval growth performance and how the early larval benchmark sizes are systematically reflected throughout the later juvenile- and adult life stages. GCM-modeling further shows how the life-span is divided into consecutive stages with fixed growth potential and how the potential maximum size of the fish is already fixed at the larval stage. When applied to historical data from the Icelandic cod stock, GCM-modeling reveals a previously overlooked fluctuation pattern in cohort growth rates.