Distribution by origin and sea age of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) in the sea around the Faroe Islands based on analysis of historical tag recoveries

A database of 2651 tags applied to Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) smolts in 13 countries or jurisdictions and recovered in the Faroes longline salmon fishery from 1968 to 2000 was analysed for geographic distribution and origin of the salmon captured with respect to differences in sea age, season of the fishery, and hydrographic features in the Faroes area. The results indicated that salmon were not distributed randomly in the Faroes area by fishing season, sea age, or country of origin. The distribution of salmon in the Faroes zone partly depends on their geographic origin; salmon from countries in the northern European stock complex were distributed significantly farther northeast than those from countries in the southern European stock complex. Furthermore, the proportion of tag recoveries from southern European countries was higher in autumn, and the proportion recovered from northern European countries higher in winter. The apparent temporal and spatial segregation of stocks of different origin suggests that there may have been differential exploitation on these stocks, which provides information that could inform fishery management with regard to temporal and/or spatial fishery options for the Faroes commercial salmon fishery should it recommence in future