scholarly journals First thorough assessment of de novo oocyte recruitment in a teleost serial spawner, the Northeast Atlantic mackerel (Scomber scombrus) case

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Thassya C. dos Santos Schmidt ◽  
Anders Thorsen ◽  
Aril Slotte ◽  
Leif Nøttestad ◽  
Olav S. Kjesbu

AbstractThe understanding of teleost fecundity type (determinate or indeterminate) is essential when deciding which egg production method should be applied to ultimately estimate spawning stock biomass. The fecundity type is, however, unknown or controversial for several commercial stocks, including the Northeast Atlantic mackerel (Scomber scombrus). Aiming at solving this problem, we applied state-of-the-art laboratory methods to document the mackerel fecundity type, including any de novo oocyte recruitment during spawning. Initially, active mackerel spawning females were precisely classified according to their spawning status. The number and size of all phasei-specific oocytes (12 phases), with a special attention to previtellogenic oocytes phases (PVO [PVO2 to PVO4a–c]), were also thoroughly investigated. Examinations of relative fecundity (RFi) clarified that the latest phase of PVOs (PVO4c) are de novo recruited to the cortical alveoli–vitellogenic pool during the spawning period, resulting in a dome-shaped seasonal pattern in RFi. Hence, we unequivocally classify mackerel as a true indeterminate spawner. As PVO4c oocytes were currently identified around 230 µm, mackerel fecundity counts should rather use this diameter as the lower threshold instead of historically 185 µm. Any use of a too low threshold value in this context will inevitably lead to an overestimation of RFi and thereby underestimated spawning stock biomass.

2011 ◽  
Vol 68 (5) ◽  
pp. 848-859 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. John Simmonds ◽  
Andrew Campbell ◽  
Dankert Skagen ◽  
Beatriz A. Roel ◽  
Ciaran Kelly

Abstract Simmonds, E. J., Campbell, A., Skagen, D., Roel, B. A., and Kelly, C. 2011. Development of a stock–recruit model for simulating stock dynamics for uncertain situations: the example of Northeast Atlantic mackerel (Scomber scombrus). – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 68: 848–859. The assumption of a relationship between recruitment and a spawning stock is the cornerstone of the precautionary approach and may constrain the use of a maximum sustainable yield (MSY) target for fisheries management, because the failure to include such a relationship suggests that providing a measure of stock protection is unnecessary. The implications of fitting different functional forms and stochastic distributions to stock-and-recruit data are investigated. The importance of these considerations is shown by taking a practical example from management: the management plan for Northeast Atlantic mackerel (Scomber scombrus), a fish stock with an average annual catch of 600 000 t. The historical range of spawning-stock biomass is narrow, and historical data from a stock assessment explain only a small proportion of the recruitment variability. We investigate how best to reflect the uncertainty in the stock–recruit relationship. Selecting a single model based on simple statistical criteria can have major consequences for advice and is problematic. Selecting a distribution of models with derived probabilities gives a more complete perception of uncertainty in dynamics. Differences in functional form, distribution of deviations, and variability of coefficients are allowed. The approach appropriately incorporates uncertainty in the stock–recruit relationship for FMSY estimation.


2021 ◽  
pp. 102658
Author(s):  
Teunis Jansen ◽  
Aril Slotte ◽  
Thassya Christina dos Santos Schmidt ◽  
Claus Reedtz Sparrevohn ◽  
Jan Arge Jacobsen ◽  
...  

2009 ◽  
Vol 66 (9) ◽  
pp. 1999-2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cindy J. G. van Damme ◽  
Loes J. Bolle ◽  
Clive J. Fox ◽  
Petter Fossum ◽  
Gerd Kraus ◽  
...  

Abstract van Damme, C. J. G., Bolle, L. J., Fox, C. J., Fossum, P., Kraus, G., Munk, P., Rohlf, N., Witthames, P. R., and Dickey-Collas, M. 2009. A reanalysis of North Sea plaice spawning-stock biomass using the annual egg production method. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 66: 1999–2011. Uncertainty about the quality of current virtual population analysis-based stock assessment for North Sea plaice (Pleuronectes platessa) has led to various abundance indices. We compared biomass estimates from the annual egg production (AEP) method with current stock assessments based on catch-at-age to validate the current and historical perception of exploitation. The AEP method was also used to investigate the dynamics of the spatial components of plaice in the North Sea. We corrected for fecundity down-regulation and changes in sex ratio. Estimates from both methods were similar in trend and absolute biomass. On the Dogger Bank, there was a dramatic decline in biomass from 1948 and 1950 to 2004, and in the Southern Bight, the stock appeared to increase from 1987 and 1988 to 2004, although not reaching the historically high levels of 1948 or 1950. The timing of spawning of North Sea plaice does not appear to have changed throughout the period of high exploitation. We conclude that the AEP method is a useful way to hindcast the spatial dynamics of heavily exploited flatfish stocks.


2009 ◽  
Vol 66 (4) ◽  
pp. 617-622 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrícia Gonçalves ◽  
Ana Maria Costa ◽  
Alberto G. Murta

Abstract Gonçalves, P., Costa, A. M., and Murta, A. G. 2009. Estimates of batch fecundity, and spawning fraction for the southern stock of horse mackerel (Trachurus trachurus) in ICES Division IXa. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 66: 617–622. Since 1995 the annual egg production method has been applied triennially to the southern stock of horse mackerel (Trachurus trachurus) in the Northeast Atlantic (ICES Division IXa). This method assumes that fecundity is determinate, but increasing evidence indicates that horse mackerel are indeterminate spawners. The daily egg production method (DEPM) does not rely on the assumption of determinate fecundity, making it the appropriate method for this species. Therefore, we reanalysed samples collected from previous surveys (2002, 2004, 2005, and 2007) to obtain estimates for batch fecundity and spawning fraction, which are important DEPM parameters. The estimates of batch fecundity are around 200 oocytes g−1 of female (total ovary-free weight). Several criteria were used to estimate spawning fraction (migratory nucleus stage, hydrated oocytes, and post-ovulatory follicles) and all showed the same trend among years, varying between 0.10 and 0.30 d−1. The estimates were significantly different among methods, but those differences were similar across surveys, indicating that a consistent bias would be reflected in the final spawning-stock biomass (SSB) estimates obtained from the DEPM. Until further information is available regarding the accuracy of the criteria used to estimate spawning fraction, the southern horse mackerel SSB estimates from the DEPM should only be taken as indicative of trends rather than measures of absolute abundance.


2018 ◽  
Vol 75 (5) ◽  
pp. 1647-1654
Author(s):  
K Ganias ◽  
D Marmara ◽  
A Solla ◽  
D Garabana ◽  
R Dominguez-Petit

Abstract The present study contributes to a better understanding of the daily spawning dynamics of southern NEA mackerel (Scomber scombrus) with implications for the estimation of batch fecundity. It shows that there is a time window during the day, mainly in the afternoon, during which the advanced oocyte mode in imminent spawners separates from the remaining, smaller oocytes. This synchronicity in the separation of the spawning batch amongst imminent spawners corroborates evidence for the existence of daily spawning synchronicity in the population. This is particularly important for applications of the daily egg production method, DEPM, because such pattern facilitates both the ageing of eggs for the estimation of the daily egg production at sea and the ageing of postovulatory follicles for the estimation of spawning frequency. For NEA mackerel, batch fecundity could only be measured when a clear hiatus was established between the spawning batch and the smaller oocytes. Hydrated females that do not show such hiatus would not be valid for batch fecundity measurements suggesting that the “hydrated oocytes method” is not fully applicable for this stock. Knowing the time of day at which the batch is separated, will facilitate the sampling of valid females for the estimation of batch fecundity.


2004 ◽  
Vol 61 (6) ◽  
pp. 944-958 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stylianos Somarakis ◽  
Isabel Palomera ◽  
Alberto Garcia ◽  
Luis Quintanilla ◽  
Constantin Koutsikopoulos ◽  
...  

Abstract Since the late 1980s, the Daily Egg Production Method (DEPM) has been applied to several anchovy stocks in European waters. DEPM surveys in the Bay of Biscay were well standardized and focused on providing fisheries-independent information for stock assessment purposes. Those targeting Mediterranean stocks were largely experimental and often opportunistic, with the main aim of developing and testing the method, rather than providing estimates of spawning stock biomass (SSB) for stock assessment. Consequently, the DEPM has been applied once, twice, or a maximum of three times in certain Mediterranean areas with no among-area standardization. Different techniques for several aspects of the method have been used in the Mediterranean, and the parameters estimated vary greatly among stocks and year of application. Evidence is provided that variability in biological production among sub-basins and/or years, a characteristic of Mediterranean Sea, may directly affect anchovy egg production. The daily specific fecundity of anchovy stocks can vary greatly among years, areas, or seasons in response to changing environmental and trophic regimes. When the correlation between regression-derived estimates of daily egg production and associated estimates of daily specific fecundity for anchovy in the Mediterranean, the Bay of Biscay, and upwelling areas are compared, a significant isometric relationship emerges for the Mediterranean and the Bay of Biscay, implying density-dependent use of spawning habitat. In upwelling areas, estimates of daily egg production are relatively high for a narrow range of generally low daily specific fecundities. There is a strong linear relationship between anchovy SSB and spawning area in European waters that does not differ significantly between the Bay of Biscay and the Mediterranean Sea.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kohma Arai ◽  
Martin Castonguay ◽  
David H. Secor

AbstractThe Atlantic mackerel (Scomber scombrus) in the Northwest Atlantic is comprised of northern and southern components that have distinct spawning sites off Canada (northern contingent) and the US (southern contingent), and seasonally overlap in US fished regions. Thus, assessment and management of this population can be sensitive to levels of mixing between contingents, which remain unknown. Multi-decadal trends in contingent mixing levels within the US fisheries region were assessed, and the contingent composition across seasons, locations, ages, and size classes were characterized using archived otoliths and developing a classification baseline based on juvenile otolith carbon and oxygen stable isotopes (δ13C/δ18O values). Classification of age ≥ 2 adults demonstrated that northern contingent mixing was prevalent within the US continental shelf waters during the past 2 decades (2000–2019), providing an important seasonal subsidy to the US winter fishery despite substantial depletion in spawning stock biomass of the dominant northern contingent. While the majority of older fish were of the northern contingent during the early 2000s, the southern contingent contribution increased with age/size class during the recent period (2013–2019). Spatial mixing was most prevalent during February and March when the northern contingent occurred as far south as the Delmarva Peninsula, but were mostly absent from US waters in May. A positive relationship (albeit not significant; r = 0.60, p = 0.07) occurred between northern contingent mixing and US fisheries landings, which could imply that higher contingent mixing levels might be associated with greater landings for the US winter mackerel fishery. The yield of the Northwest Atlantic mackerel depends upon the status of the northern contingent, with the southern contingent possibly more prone to depletion. Spatially explicit stock assessment models are recommended to conserve both productivity and stability in this two-component population.


2015 ◽  
Vol 95 (5) ◽  
pp. 1051-1059 ◽  
Author(s):  
Milica Mandić ◽  
Slobodan Regner ◽  
Mirko Đurović ◽  
Aleksandar Joksimović ◽  
Ana Pešić ◽  
...  

Seasonal distribution and abundance of anchovy eggs were analysed during three scientific cruises carried out from summer 2006 to summer 2007 in the Boka Kotorska Bay, and one cruise in July 2008 in the open waters of the south-eastern Adriatic Sea. Daily egg production method (DEPM) was applied for the first time for estimation of the anchovy spawning stock biomass in the south-eastern Adriatic Sea. The daily egg production was 13–581 eggs day−1 within the bay, and 42–110 eggs day−1 in the open waters. Anchovy egg abundance was highest in spring inside the Bay of Kotor (one of the innermost and eutrophic sub-bays of the Boka Kotorska Bay), which indicates that the conditions for anchovy spawning are very favourable in this part of the Adriatic Sea, even when temperatures are below the optimum. This study has shown that the Boka Kotorska Bay is an area of very intensive spawning of anchovy, and that small-size anchovies live and spawn in the bay, and after spawning migrate towards open waters. The length at which 50% of anchovy were mature (L50) was calculated as 9.28 for females and 9.02 for males. Spawning stock biomass was at a stable level during the period of investigation.


1999 ◽  
Vol 50 (3) ◽  
pp. 197 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. M. Bulman ◽  
J. A. Koslow ◽  
K. A. Haskard

Egg production of the blue grenadier, Macruronus novaezelandiae, spawning stock off western Tasmania was surveyed from June through September in 1994 and 1995. In each year, daily egg production rates were calculated for each of three surveys and a normal curve was fitted to estimate annual egg production. The CV for the egg production estimate for the survey at the peak of the 1995 season was 14%. Daily egg mortality was not significant in any survey, but a value of 5% was assumed. The spawning biomass of blue grenadier on the west coast of Tasmania was estimated to be between 83 660 and 100 073 t in 1994 and between 59 727 and 71 376 t in 1995. Confidence limits of the estimates were obtained by a bootstrap where the highly skewed egg density data were resampled. Biomass was approximately inversely proportional to incubation time. Increases or decreases in mortality resulted in slightly smaller increases or decreases of biomass respectively. Uncertainty of the sex ratio between spawning and non-spawning periods caused the largest variation in biomass estimate (~30%). The proportion of the population that spawns each year remains a further uncertainty in the estimate of total stock biomass.


1998 ◽  
Vol 55 (12) ◽  
pp. 2608-2621 ◽  
Author(s):  
N H Augustin ◽  
D L Borchers ◽  
E D Clarke ◽  
S T Buckland ◽  
M Walsh

Generalized additive models (GAMs) are used to model the spatiotemporal distribution of egg density as a function of locational and environmental variables. The main aim of using GAMs is to improve precision of egg abundance estimates needed for the annual egg production method. The application of GAMs requires a survey design with good coverage in space and time. If the only results available are from less optimal survey designs, they can be improved by using historical data for spawning boundaries. The method is applied to plankton egg survey data of Atlantic mackerel (Scomber scombrus) in 1995. The GAM-based method improves the precision of estimates substantially and is also useful in explaining complex space-time trends using environmental variables.


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