Verification of macroscopic maturity staging in Iceland‐East Greenland‐Jan Mayen capelin (Mallotus villosus). HV 2019-32

Capelin (Mallotus villosus) is a short‐lived pelagic fish species of major commercial importance. Maturity determinations are important for assessment and management of the Icelandic capelin stock. Temporal‐ and spatial shift in the capelin’s feeding migration since around 2000 called for moving the assessment survey by more than a month forward, which created challenges in capelin maturity staging. Macroscopic maturity assignment of capelin ovaries and testes were therefore verified with histological examinations to assess if and where improvements were required.