In the Northwest Atlantic, emerging evidence suggests that different stocks of Atlantic halibut (Hippoglossus hippoglossus) exist in Canadian and U.S. waters. To examine the movement of Atlantic halibut that occupy the Gulf of Maine in U.S. waters during the summer, two types of electronic tags were attached to large adult fish (n = 70) in [2007][2008][2009]. None of the recovered tags (n = 12) provided evidence that the fish occupied the relatively deep waters of the continental slope during the winter, where Canadian Atlantic halibut have been shown to spawn. This observation provides additional evidence for the hypothesis that different stocks of Atlantic halibut exist in Canadian and U.S. waters. Furthermore, this observation requires reexamination of the long-standing assumptions made by fisheries scientists that all Atlantic halibut spawn in deep water on the continental slope and that the majority of mature Atlantic halibut spawn annually. This information may be important for understanding the population dynamics of Atlantic halibut in U.S. waters.

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Box 1 Customary land tenure in the Pacific Box 2 An economic analysis of the Lak project Box 3 Tuna quotas and their application in the Pacific Box4 Vanuatu : features of protected areas under by-laws Box 5 Solomon Islands : customary marine tenure and scuba diving fees Box 6 Co-financing of marine conservation in Solomon Islands vii