Histological assessment of variations in sexual maturity of cod (Gadus morhua L.) at the Flemish Cap (north-west Atlantic)

A histological method is used to detect the proportion of both adult and recruit females at the beginning of gonad development, in summer, a few months after spawning. At this time it is difficult to make a visual diagnosis of the sexual maturity stage. The proportion of females with postovulatory follicles is used to determine the length and age at maturity in the year of sampling, and the proportion of females in the cortical alveoli and/or vitellogenic stages is used to estimate the same parameter for the following year. Variations in age and length at maturity during the period 1992–1995 w... Mehr ...