The Relationship Between Oceanographic Conditions in the 1990s and Changes in Spawning Behaviour, Growth and Early Life History of
A review of several aspects of inshore capelin biology and behaviour in the Northwest Atlantic during the 1980s and the early-1990s is presented. Since 1991 capelin have spawned later on beaches, newly hatched capelin larvae have emerged late in the summer, mean lengths and weights of age 3 and age...
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| Format: | Text |
| Language: | English |
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| Online Access: | http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.496.9856 http://archive.nafo.int/open/studies/s24/nakashim.pdf |
| Summary: | A review of several aspects of inshore capelin biology and behaviour in the Northwest Atlantic during the 1980s and the early-1990s is presented. Since 1991 capelin have spawned later on beaches, newly hatched capelin larvae have emerged late in the summer, mean lengths and weights of age 3 and age 4 capelin have been lower, and the proportion of mature age 2 fish has increased compared to the 1980s. Recent changes in the behaviour of capelin have also been linked to changes in the August diet of seabirds such as gannets and common Murres. Evidence of a decline in the offshore biomass and changes in diurnal movements since 1990 were observed during offshore acoustic surveys. Capelin have ex-tended their distribution onto the Flemish Cap and Scotian Shelf in the 1990s. Cooler water temperatures in the 1990s are hypothesized as the predominant reason for changes in capelin behaviour, distribution, and biology which have been observed since 1991. These changes have affected the inshore commercial capelin fishery and the interpretation of indices of relative abundance used to assess stock status. Key words: Biological characteristics, capelin, oceanography |
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