Merkeforsøk med sei på Sunnmøre i november - desember 1974

In November - December 1974, 2499 young saithe were tagged and released in Norwegian coastal waters at about 62°30'N. By the end of 1976, 370 (14.8%) were reported recovered. The results showed that a mass migration to the North Sea took place around May - June 1975, and by the end of the year virtually all the saithe had left the coastal waters. Recoveries outside the coastal area were made predominantly in the North Sea, and none were reported from north of 63°30'N. The size of the saithe when leaving the coastal waters, was about 35-40 cm and the age 3-4 years. A seasonal purse seine fishery for saithe in winter in the tagging area heavily exploits the local stock, but migration is the major reason for low abundance in periods of saithe longer than 35-40 cm in the area