Atlantic chub mackerel (Scomber colias) growth and reproduction off the Portuguese coast in relation to the population dynamics

Spatial variability of life-history parameters of the Atlantic chub mackerel (Scomber colias), an expanding species in the northeast Atlantic

“…Previous studies reported higher values in the Bay of Biscay (L 50 =29 cm; Lucio 1997) and in Portuguese waters (L 50 =27 cm; Martins 1996), although more recent investigations showed L 50 values in the Bay of Biscay similar to those reported here (25 cm; Villamor et al 2017, Navarro et al 2021a. In western Portuguese waters, Nunes et al (2019) reported an L 50 equal to 22.6 cm and 19.2 cm for females and males, respectively; while Gonçalves et al (2016) in southern Portugal reported an L 50 for both sexes combined of 18.6 cm. These Portuguese values are slightly higher than our estimations (17.5 cm).…”

“…In the Atlantic islands the spawning season of Atlantic chub mackerel has been reported from November/December to March in the Canary Islands Pajuelo 1996, Jurado-Ruzafa et al 2021), from January to April in Madeira (Vasconcelos et al 2012) and from March to July/ August in the Azores (Carvalho et al 2002). Finally, in the Atlantic Iberian waters spawning season has been reported from December to March in waters of southern Portugal waters (ICES 2020), from December to May in western Portuguese waters (Nunes et al 2019) and, lastly, from March to July on the northwestern Spanish coast and the Cantabrian Sea (Villamor et al 2017Navarro et al 2021a). The spawning period of Atlantic chub mackerel in the Mediterranean Sea has been reported from April to August (Rizkalla 1998, Cengiz 2012, Allaya et al 2013.…”