Electrophoretic studies of cod (Gadus morhua) from Faroe Bank and Faroe Plateau compared with results found in other areas

The Faroe Bank covers a relatively small area with water masses fairly well isolated from the water masses on the Faroe Plateau. Individual growth of cod on the Faroe Bank is higher than observed in almost all other areas in the world. It has been shown that there are morpho- and physiological differences between cod from the Faroe Bank and cod on the Faroe Plateau.

In this paper results from electrophoretic studies are presented. In the genetic analyses there were no differences between cod living on the Faroe Plateau and on the Faroe Bank. This genetic similarity is caused by migration between the areas. No differences were detected in allele frequencies neither between the two sexes nor among different year classes neither within nor between the two populations. The results also show that there were no differences in mean size of cod within genotypes or among loci.

Indication of the genetic similarity between cod living on the Faroe Plateau and the Faroe Bank is in agreement with results found in similar investigations of Atlantic cod elsewhere .

Results from electrophoretic investigations of cod stocks in the North Atlantic show great genetic uniformity where local variations within populations often exceed variations between populations.