Figure 1.

Growth curves of 10 asymptotic size classes with varying asymptotic sizes (thin lines) together with expected range of von Bertalanffy growth curves in the North Sea (grey patch). The thin dashed line is the size at maturation. Weight is normalized by the asymptotic size M and age t is normalized by the expected life time ∝ M¹⁻ⁿ. The data from the North Sea are calculated using growth curves with von Bertalanffy growth rates KL_∞ within ± 1 s.d. of the mean growth of the species listed in Gislason et al. (2008).