Stock Discrimination by Trace-element Analysis of Otoliths of Orange Roughy (Hoplostethus atlanticus), a Deep-water Marine Teleost

Abstract

Concentrations of trace elements in sagittal otoliths of orange roughy (Hoplostethus atlanticus) from three areas (off Adelaide, and off the eastern and western coasts of Tasmania) were measured by inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry and inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry. Canonical-variate (discriminant) analyses of the concentrations of 10 elements (Ba, Cd, Cu, K, Mg, Na, Pb, S, Sr, Zn) showed that the patterns of element concentrations were specific to the areas where fish were captured. These results suggest that there is little movement of fish between the three areas. The elements that were most important in discriminating between the areas were Mg, Na and S.