Migration and Fisheries of North East Atlantic Mackerel (Scomber scombrus) in Autumn and Winter ...

• Main Authors: Jansen, Teunis, Campbell, Andrew, Kelly, Ciarán, Hátún, Hjálmar, Payne, Mark R.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: ETH Zurich 2012
• Subjects: North East Atlantic
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.3929/ethz-b-000060683; http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11850/60683

It has been suggested that observed spatial variation in mackerel fisheries, extending over several hundreds of kilometers, is reflective of climate-driven changes in mackerel migration patterns. Previous studies have been unable to clearly demonstrate this link. In this paper we demonstrate correlation between temperature and mackerel migration/distribution as proxied by mackerel catch data from both scientific bottom trawl surveys and commercial fisheries. We show that mackerel aggregate and migrate distances of up to 500 km along the continental shelf edge from mid-November to early March. The path of this migration coincides with the location of the relatively warm shelf edge current and, as a consequence of this affinity, mackerel are guided towards the main spawning area in the south. Using a simulated time series of temperature of the shelf edge current we show that variations in the timing of the migration are significantly correlated to temperature fluctuations within the current. The proposed ... : PLoS ONE, 7 (12) ...