Metazoan parasites of Macruronus magellanicus from southern Chile as biological tags

Examination of 450 specimens of Macruronus magellanicus two fishing grounds in southern Chile (Talcahuano: 36 degrees 40 'S, Punta Arenas: 54 degreesS ) revealed 24 205 metazoan parasites, belonging to 15 taxa with low specifi city: Chondracanihus australis ans Neobrachtella sp. (Copepoda); Elytrophal loides oatesi, Gonocerca phycidis, Derogenes varieus ans Brachyphallus parv us, (Digenea); Hepatoxylon trichiuri, Scolex pleuronectis, Clestobothrium c rassiceps, Grillotia dollfusi, Pseudophyllidea gen sp. (Cestoda); Anisakida e, Cucullanus sp. (Nematoda), Corynosoma australe and Acanthocephala gen. s p. (Acanthocephala). The list includes parasites that are common to other m erluccids from the zone. The parasitological evidence does not suggest the existence of two discrete stocks, but the existence of a migratory process from south to north. (C) 2001 The Fisheries Society of the British Isles.