Fisheries measures protect European seabass groups with distinct habitat use differently

Goossens, Jolien; Villagra, Damian; De Putter, Georges; Verhelst, Pieterjan; Torreele, Els; Moens, Tom; Reubens, Jan

doi:10.1093/icesjms/fsad116

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 46 publications

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“…Current levels of commercial interest, trends in stock status, and the emergency EU measures have all sparked a renaissance in research activity on this species. New research programmes have provided novel information on population structure ([ 29 , 54 ]), localised residency and inter annual fidelity [ 8 , 12 , 15 , 20 ], migration [ 12 , 13 ] and seasonal behaviour (Herrah et al, 2017) in French waters, spawning [ 5 , 22 ] and nursery areas [ 67 ], all of which add to our knowledge on the life history and behaviour of this species. Most recently, de Pontual et al [ 13 ] published the results of a study in which 1220 mature bass were tagged with electronic data storage tags (referred to as “electronic tags” in this study) at ten locations along the breadth of the French coastline from Dunkirk in the north to Capbreton in the south.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seasonal migrations of the European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax L.) in UK and surrounding waters

Wright,

Griffiths,

Bendall

et al. 2024

Mov Ecol

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The movements and behaviour of mature European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax L.) in UK waters have not been studied extensively since a series of mark-recapture experiments during the 1970s, 80s and 90s. To better understand the timing and extent of seasonal migrations, 171 mature sea bass > 42 cm were internally tagged with floated electronic tags programmed to record temperature and depth, and released in the English Channel, in the southern North Sea and in the Irish Sea. Among the 48 tags returned to date, sea bass were at liberty for 370 ± 337 days and were recovered 172 ± 200 km from their respective release locations. Most tags were recovered from beaches (54%), or via the fishery (44%). A comparison of the reconstructed tracks from returned electronic tags with the recapture locations of 237 mark-recapture returns (6.5%) from 3615 sea bass released between 1970 and 2020 showed strong overlap. Seasonal movements between shallow areas (Q2–Q3) and deeper spawning areas (Q4–Q1) were accompanied by elevated vertical swimming speeds and average water temperatures of 8.5 °C in the English Channel and Irish Sea, but lower temperatures in the North Sea. Movements between the Celtic Sea/Irish Sea and the North Sea and vice versa demonstrate high levels of connectivity in UK waters. We demonstrate that a proportion of sea bass remained resident within the North Sea throughout the year, with a strong suggestion that spawning might be occurring. These data have significant implications for the future sustainable management of sea bass stocks in UK and surrounding waters.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seasonal migrations of the European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax L.) in UK and surrounding waters

Wright,

Griffiths,

Bendall

et al. 2024

Mov Ecol

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Elucidating the migrations of European seabass from the southern north sea using mark-recapture data, acoustic telemetry and data storage tags

Goossens,

Woillez,

Wright

et al. 2024

Sci Rep

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The movement ecology of European seabass, Dicentrarchus labrax, remains poorly understood, especially in the northern ranges of its distribution. To investigate migration patterns of seabass from the southern North Sea, we combined data from different projects from four countries using various tagging techniques. This resulted in 146 recaptures (out of 5598 externally marked seabass), 138 detected animals (out of 162 seabass fitted with an acoustic transmitter) and 76 archived depth and temperature series (out of 323 seabass with an archival tag). Using geolocation modelling, we distinguished different migration strategies, whereby individual fish migrated to the eastern English Channel (15.1%), the western English Channel (28.3%), the Celtic Sea and the norther part of the Bay of Biscay (17.0%), or stayed in the North Sea (39.6%). A high number of seabass exhibited fidelity to the North Sea (90.5% of recaptures, 55.3% for acoustic transmitters and 44.7% of archival tags). Although seabass are generally considered to migrate southwards in winter, a large number of individuals (n = 62) were observed in the southern North Sea, where spawning might potentially occur in a particular deep location along the coast of Norfolk in the UK. Our results highlight the need to consider fine-scaled population structuring in fisheries assessment, and indicate that current seasonal fisheries closures are not aligned with the ecology of seabass in the North Sea.

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European plaice movements show evidence of high residency, site fidelity, and feeding around hard substrates within an offshore wind farm

Buyse,

Reubens,

Hostens

et al. 2023

ICES Journal of Marine Science

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Offshore wind farms (OWFs) are expanding rapidly in the North Sea, often creating spatial conflicts with fisheries. Managing such conflicts requires knowledge on the impact of OWFs on the spatial distribution and movement behaviour of fished species. However, such knowledge is still lacking, especially for soft sediment fish such as flatfish, which are vital fisheries resources in the region. Therefore, we used acoustic telemetry to examine the spatial behaviour of European plaice in relation to an OWF and its structures. In a small study area (1.37 km2), we observed high residency for plaice around the turbines and scour protection layer (SPL), which consists of large rocks around the turbine foundation. The fish primarily resided on sandy sediments near the hard substrates, but showed a diurnal pattern of proximity to the turbine, being closer during the day. Considering their trophic ecology, these findings suggest that plaice moves towards the SPL for feeding opportunities on the hard substrate, potentially leading to increased ecological fish production within OWFs. Although most plaice moved away from the OWF in winter, likely towards spawning grounds, many exhibited high site fidelity returning to the study area after the winter migration. OWFs thus offer protection from fishing mortality as “closed” feeding grounds in spring and summer, but not during winter spawning migrations, which may result in spillover effects. These insights should inform local fisheries management in relation to plaice movement within and around OWFs.

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Fisheries measures protect European seabass groups with distinct habitat use differently

Cited by 3 publications

References 46 publications

Seasonal migrations of the European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax L.) in UK and surrounding waters

Seasonal migrations of the European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax L.) in UK and surrounding waters

Elucidating the migrations of European seabass from the southern north sea using mark-recapture data, acoustic telemetry and data storage tags

European plaice movements show evidence of high residency, site fidelity, and feeding around hard substrates within an offshore wind farm

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