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Monitoring juvenile stocks of flatfish in the Wadden Sea and the coastal areas of the southeastern North Sea
Helgoländer Meeresuntersuchungen volume 43, pages 461–477 (1989)
Abstract
Results are presented of an on-going monitoring program, started in 1970, of the demersal fish population in the Wadden Sea, Scheldt estuary, and along the continental coast between the Belgian-French border and Esbjerg. Particular attention is given to long-term trends in overall abundance and annual variations in spatial distribution of 0- and 1-group plaice and sole in relation to year-class strength and to variations in growth rate. Recruitment level in both plaice and sole appeared to be higher in the 1980s than in the 1970s. The most important nursery areas for plaice are the German Bight and the Wadden Sea, and the relative contributions of these areas to the total plaice stock in different years are relatively stable. In contrast, the most important nurseries for sole are along the continental coast, and the contribution of different parts of these nurseries vary considerably from year to year. Abundant year-classes of sole can originate from northern as well as from southern parts of the nurseries. Relations between survey results and year-class estimates from Virtual Population Analysis (VPA) for plaice are better compared to sole. No trends have been observed in mean length at age 0 and 1 during the years the surveys have been carried out. It is concluded that the quality of the continental coastal area and the Wadden Sea as nursery area for plaice and sole has not declined during the period of investigation.
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van Beek, F.A., Rijnsdorp, A.D. & de Clerck, R. Monitoring juvenile stocks of flatfish in the Wadden Sea and the coastal areas of the southeastern North Sea. Helgolander Meeresunters 43, 461–477 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02365904
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02365904