Evaluating growth dimorphism, maturation, and skip spawning of Atlantic halibut in the Gulf of Maine using a collaborative research approach

Abstract

The data-limited nature of Atlantic halibut (Hippoglossus hippoglossus) in U.S. waters hampers evaluation of what may be a slow but steady rebuilding pattern. Here, we collaborate with the commercial fishery to design and implement a multi-gear sampling program that collected 100s of biological samples from throughout the Gulf of Maine in a five-year period, 2014–2018. Examination of sectioned otoliths revealed a maximum age of 12 years (females) and 13 years (males); in comparison, Atlantic halibut as old as 40–50 years have been collected elsewhere in the western North Atlantic. Growth modeling confirmed sexual dimorphism, with a larger asymptotic length (L∞) for females (214 cm fork length [FL]) than males (195 cm FL). Estimates of median female length at maturity, L50, of 128 cm FL (124–132 cm, 95% confidence limits), and median female age at maturity, A50, of 9.6 years old (9.0–10.8 years), were longer and older than previous reports for the Gulf of Maine, likely resulting from our use of histological instead of macroscopic methods to classify maturity. Histology demonstrated that vitellogenesis initiated in individuals in spring, nearly a year prior to spawning, which allowed us to identify first-time (primiparous) spawners and provided the first potential evidence of skip spawning for this species. Finally, an index was developed to track the proportion of potentially mature females in the fishery, which showed an increasing trend; this qualitative tool may prove useful in a data-limited environment for evaluating the relative stock status of Atlantic halibut.