Odd Aksel Bergstad

Dispersal of tagged juvenile turbot Scophthalmus maximus on the Norwegian Skagerrak coast

Abstract In the autumn of 1992 and spring 1993, 1076 artificially hatched and reared turbot Scophthalmus maximus of total length 15–25 cm were tagged and liberated at four locations on the Norwegian Skagerrak coast. In the 3 years after the release, 2% of the turbot were reported recaptured, mostly from the summer recreational gill-net fisheries. Recaptures were made at coastal sites within a range of about 50 km from the release locations. No reports came from the open Skagerrak or the North Sea. The recapture rate appeared to be positively correlated with size at release, but the individual growth in length was low compared with growth rates reported from other areas.