The recruitment of juvenile plaice (Pleuronectes platessa L.) to their parent spawning stock

Between 1969 and 1972, 2282 juvenile plaice were tagged and released in Filey Bay, Yorkshire. Up to 1982, 458 valid returns were made. The overwhelming majority of these returns were made from fishing grounds within the area occupied by the Flamborough spawning stock. The conclusion drawn from the results was that when plaice approach sexual maturity they emigrate from the nursery area in which they settle as 0-groups, and recruit to their parent spawning stock. Estimates of vectors and dispersion coefficients support the hypothesis that the mean position of the population of mature fish moves very little from year to year.