Otolith microstructure indicating growth and mortality among plaice, Pleuronectes platessa L., post-larval sub-cohorts

Growth and mortality of post-metamorphosed plaice were studied by means of daily increments in the sagittal otoliths. The Gompertz model was the best fit to length-at-age data and there were no significant differences between length-at-age and back-calculated lengths. The microstructure pattern of the otoliths at metamorphosis was also used to estimate hatching and settlement distributions. Differential growth and mortality occurred among sub-cohorts; growth rates and mortality were higher in fish that settled earlier. In 1986, the best survival was for a sub-cohort settling in late May to early June. In contrast, in the warmer season of 1987, survival was highest for the second and third sub-cohorts settling in late April and mid May.