Compensatory growth in fishes: a response to growth depression

Abstract Compensatory growth (CG) is a phase of accelerated growth when favourable conditions are restored after a period of growth depression. CG reduces variance in size by causing growth trajectories to converge and is important to fisheries management, aquaculture and life history analysis because it can offset the effects of growth arrests. Compensatory growth has been demonstrated in both individually housed and grouped fish, typically after growth depression has been induced by complete or partial food deprivation. Partial, full and over‐compensation have all been evoked in fish, although over‐compensation has only been demonstrated when cycles of deprivation and satiation feeding have been imposed.…