We have developed a multidecadal retrospective growth history for the principal sea-age groups of the Miramichi River population of Atlantic salmon ( Salmo salar ) that characterizes freshwater growth and marine growth partitioned on a number of different time scales. Based on precedent with European salmon, we tested whether postsmolt growth was positively correlated with recruitment, assuming that growth during the postsmolt year mediates predation mortality. We found no such correlation in the Miramichi postsmolt growth pattern and instead found evidence of a negative correlation between growth and recruitment established by the second month that the fish were at sea. This negative correlation was interpreted as a density-dependant response of the population to recruitment determined early in the marine phase. There was inconsistent evidence that smolt size, as represented by freshwater zone length of the scale, influenced the pattern of recruitment. Finally, we found systematic differences between one-sea-winter (1SW) and 2SW returns related to greater postsmolt growth and, in particular, greater winter growth experienced by fish maturing after the first sea-winter. These data are consistent with findings relating climate variability during the months after smolts migrate to sea and recruitment variability, suggesting that the mortality is a short-duration event independent of growth conditions.

Scale archives of Atlantic salmon Salmo salar from Maine, U.S.A., were examined to determine whether ocean conditions affected the long-term trends in S. salar populations in the southern tier of the species' range in North America. To date, scale analyses of southern tier populations have been limited to hatchery fish; previous studies suggest that post-smolt growth does not influence recruitment, with the exception that winter growth may play a role in stock maturation rate. A time series of scales from the Machias and Narraguagus Rivers spanning the years 1946 to 1999 was analysed. Image analysis was used to measure intercirculi spacing, which provided proxy variables of growth rate. Post-smolt growth increment has increased since the early 1990s, as returns have decreased, suggesting that survival factors act on post-smolts independent of growth. The data support the hypothesis of a decoupling between freshwater size and early marine growth. Growth during the second sea winter was independent of post-smolt growth, suggesting that individuals are capable of significant compensatory growth. Southern tier North American stocks exhibit a similar pattern of independence between growth and survival as observed for northern tier North American stocks. These data support the inference that the recruitment of the North American and European subspecies is governed by fundamentally different mechanisms.

There are seven species of skates (family Rajidae) found along the East Coast of the USA. All seven species are currently managed by the New England Fisheries Management Council as a single management complex extending from the Gulf of Maine to Cape Hatteras. The objective of the management plan is to ensure the long‐term sustainability of fishing for each species via a trip limit approach. Two species are harvested in two distinct commercial fisheries. Northeast Fisheries Science Center trawl survey data and published literature were examined to investigate differences between the individual species in the skate complex. Each species exhibited a unique thermal and geographic range in addition to vital life history traits (e.g., age at maturity, longevity, and maximum size). Thorny Skate Amblyraja radiata and Smooth Skate Malacoraja senta have narrow thermal ranges and maintain a more northern distribution. Barndoor Skate Dipturus laevis have a moderate thermal habitat. Little Skate Leucoraja erinacea and Winter Skate L. ocellata have broad thermal ranges and are distributed throughout the management area. Limited inferences can be made about the thermal preferences of Clearnose Skate Raja eglanteria without data from south of Cape Hatteras, but they appear to have a broad thermal range within the management area. Rosette Skate L. garmani have a narrow thermal range and tend to be found in the deep offshore mid‐Atlantic region. The validity of managing multiple distinct species in a complex is questioned. This example shows that a mixed‐stock management strategy may be inadequate to meet the sustainability needs of each species and the associated fisheries. A management strategy focused on individual species may lead to a more efficient harvest of targeted species while allowing for the rebuilding of overfished species. Received November 8, 2011; accepted December 27, 2012