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VIMS Articles

2002

Shark

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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

Age And Growth Of The Smooth Dogfish (Mustelus Canis) In The Northwest Atlantic Ocean, Christina L. Conrath, J Gelsleichter, John A. Musick Jan 2002

Age And Growth Of The Smooth Dogfish (Mustelus Canis) In The Northwest Atlantic Ocean, Christina L. Conrath, J Gelsleichter, John A. Musick

VIMS Articles

The northwest Atlantic population of smooth dogfish (Mustelus canis) ranges from Cape Cod, Massachusetts, to South Carolina. Although M. canis is seasonally abundant in this region, very little is known about important aspects of its biology, such as growth and reproductive rates. In the early 1990s, commercial fishery landings of smooth dogfish dramatically increased on the east coast of the United States. This study investigated growth rates of the east coast M. canis population through analysis of growth patterns in vertebral centra. Marginal increment analysis, estimates of precision, and patterns in seasonal growth supported the use of vertebrae to age …