S.A. Pedersen, L. Storm and C. S. Simonsen

Greenland Institute of Natural Resources/Danish Institute for Fisheries Research
Department of Marine Ecology and Aquaculture
Kavalergården 6, DK-2920 Charlottenlund, Denmark

Source - Journal of Northwest Atlantic Fishery Science, Volume 30: 19-46
ISSN-0250-6408

 

S.A. Pedersen, L. Storm and C. S. Simonsen. 2002. Northern Shrimp (Pandalus borealis) Recruitment in West Greenland Waters. Part I. Distribution of Pandalus Shrimp Larvae in Relation to Hydrography and Plankton. J. Northw. Atl. Fish. Sci. 30: 19-46. https://doi.org/10.2960/J.v30.a2

 

Abstract

Plankton samples and oceanographic data were obtained during transect studies across fishing banks over the West Greenland shelf areas in June 1999, May, and July 2000. The hypothesis that larval shrimp are linked to the behaviour of hydrographic fronts was tested by determining whether larval shrimp abundance was linked to plankton distributions, species composition and primary productivity. We found six pelagic developmental stages (ZI–ZVI) in two species ofPandalus larvae. P. borealis was the most abundant species in all stages from ZII to ZVI. The smaller P. montagui larvae were slightly more advanced in development than P. borealis, suggesting later hatching or longer development time for P. borealis larvae. In May, high concentrations of newly hatched ZI larvae were caught near the coast and at fjord stations. In June and July, larvae in development stage ZIV dominated the catches. The two species showed minor differences in larval distribution across banks and between transects, indicating a wide larval dispersal and a relatively short hatching period. We found no relationship between indices of larval shrimp abundance and the T–S characteristics of water masses, chlorophyll a concentrations or zooplankton abundance (species, groups or sizes classes). Data from two satellite tracked SVP buoys was used to calculate a net northward drift of about 3.1 km d^-1 or 200–400 km during the pelagic life of a larval cohort. Difference in year-class strength was attributed to differences in the environmental conditions and the larval transport patterns. We suggest that coupled physical-biological models should be developed to investigate the climatic impact on distribution and recruitment variability of northern shrimp in West Greenland waters.

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Language - English
Publisher - Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Oragnization (NAFO), Dartmouth, N.S., Canada
Publication Date - 2002
Publication Type - Journal Article

Citation: S.A. Pedersen, L. Storm and C. S. Simonsen. 2002. Northern Shrimp (Pandalus borealis) Recruitment in West Greenland Waters. Part I. Distribution of Pandalus Shrimp Larvae in Relation to Hydrography and Plankton. J. Northw. Atl. Fish. Sci. 30: 19-46. https://doi.org/10.2960/J.v30.a2