Possible use of taxonomic characters to identify Newfoundland and Scottish stocks of Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L.

Abstract. Based on a pooled sample of 367 specimens of juvenile Atlanlic salmon, Salmo salar L., from eight geographically distinct home rivers, stocks from Scotland and Newfoundland can be distinguished by meristic and morphometric character sets using discriminant analysis procedures. Reduced character sets require meristic counts of pectoral fin rays, dorsal fin rays, gill rakers and vertebrae, and morphometric measurements of standard length, pectoral and pelvic fin lengths, body depth and gape width. Regional differences based on these morphometric and meristic sets are substantiated by monomorphism at each MDH locus in Scottish fish in contrast to polymorphism at the MDH-1 and MDH-3 loci in Newfoundland fish. Only the morphometric discriminant function is highly accurate (>80%) in identifying home river origins of the fish examined with the discriminating power increasing with increased fish size. These findings for juvenile fish indicate that, while meristic, morphometric and electrophoretic criteria provide a likely means for distinguishing regional fish stocks, morphometric character sets would seem to offer the best possibility for identifying home river origins of adult Atlantic salmon in mixed fisheries.