The relationship between body weight and natural mortality in juvenile and adult fish: a comparison of natural ecosystems and aquaculture

The relationship between body weight and natural mortality in juvenile and adult fish was analysed for different aquatic ecosystems: lakes, rivers, the ocean, and pond, cage and tank aquaculture systems. Mortality was modelled as a power function of weight, and the parameters b (exponent) and M_u (mortality at the unit weight of 1 g) estimated for fish in the six ecosystems, as well as within selected populations, species and families. At the ecosystem level, no significant differences in parameters were found between lakes, rivers and the ocean and a joint mortality-weight relationship for all natural ecosystems was estimated with parameters b=?0.288 (90% CL?0.315, ?0.261]) and M_u=3.00 (90% CL2.70, 3.30]) year^?1. Among the culture systems, mortality-weight relationships in ponds and cages were not significantly different and a joint relationship was estimated. The weight exponents of mortality in ponds/cages and tanks were very similar at about b=?0.43, and significantly more negative than in natural ecosystems. Mortalities at unit weight were significantly lower in tanks (0.91 year^?1) than in ponds/cages (2.24 year^?1), and both were significantly lower than in natural ecosystems. No systematic differences were found between the mortality-weight relationships determined for individual populations, species or families, and fish in the respective ecosystems. It is hypothesized that aquaculture mortality-weight relationships indicate the allometric scaling of non-predation mortality, which is therefore more strongly size dependent than predation mortality. If non predation mortality in natural ecosystems shows a similar scaling with body weight, then the allometric exponent of predation mortality must be less negative than that observed for total natural mortality. Implications of the established mortality-weight relationships for aquaculture and culture-based fisheries are discussed.