News 2021: Haddock study selected as Editor’s Choice

A study co-authored by UMass Dartmouth Professor Dr. Steven Cadrin has been selected as the Editor’s Choice for the ICES Journal of Marine Science.

Haddock support productive and sustainable fisheries on both sides of the North Atlantic. However, little is known about its population structure. A recent article co-authored by Dr. Steven Cadrin, Professor & Chair of Fisheries Oceanography at SMAST, presents the first study using single-nucleotide polymorphism markers to assess the genetic population structure of haddock at multiple geographic scales.

The study, titled “Genetic structuring in Atlantic haddock contrasts with current management regimes,” was conducted by Cadrin along with Paul Berg, Per Jorde, Kevin Glover, Geir Dahle, John  Taggart, Knut Korsbrekke, Gjert Dingsør, Jon Skjæraasen, Peter Wright, Halvor Knutsen, and Jon-Ivar Westgaard.

Researchers measured genetic variability of haddock among fishing grounds across the North Atlantic and into the Artic and Barents Sea, and observed a genetically distinct fjord population and a pattern of isolation by distance in the Northeast Atlantic. The results contrast with the current management regime for this species in the Northeast Atlantic, and found structure within some management areas. The study, which is relevant to the management of haddock in the Northeast Atlantic, adds to the growing recognition of population structuring in marine organisms, and reveals spatial mismatch between management and biological units of haddock.

Read the article, published by the ICES Journal of Marine Science, which is based on the paper selected as the IJMS Editor’s Choice last month.