SALSEA North America: a pelagic ecosystem survey targeting Atlantic salmon in the Northwest Atlantic

• Published in: ICES Journal of Marine Science
• Main Authors: Sheehan, Timothy F., Reddin, David G., Chaput, Gérald, Renkawitz, Mark D.
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford University Press 2012
• Subjects: Salmon at Sea; Greenland; Atlantic salmon; Labrador Sea; Northwest Atlantic; Salmo salar
• Online Access: http://icesjms.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/short/fss052v1; https://doi.org/10.1093/icesjms/fss052

<qd> Sheehan, T. F., Reddin, D. G., Chaput, G., and Renkawitz, M. D. SALSEA North America: a pelagic ecosystem survey targeting Atlantic salmon in the Northwest Atlantic. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, doi:10.1093/icesjms/fss052. </qd>Pelagic ecosystem surveys were conducted in the Labrador Sea during 2008 and 2009 as part of SALSEA North America. In total, 107 Atlantic salmon ( Salmo salar ) were captured using a pelagic surface trawl and multipanel surface gillnets. Surface trawling provided a broad spatial sampling of the fish and macroinvertebrate communities in the upper 10 m of the water column, but caught few salmon (23). Gillnetting was more effective at capturing post-smolt (60) and adult (24) salmon. Multiple smolt cohorts were captured, indicating that post-smolts and returning adults from different rivers in North America have similar autumnal habitat requirements. Post-smolts were caught at night and in water temperatures exceeding 10°C, both novel results. Post-smolts and adults consumed similar and diverse prey species, although Themisto compressa was the most important prey item. Intestinal macroparasite loads were substantial and could be a significant source of mortality. Concurrent planktonic assemblage and oceanographic conditions were also quantified. A full exploration of these data, historical datasets, and parallel data collected during SALSEA Greenland and SALSEA-Merge will further understanding of the ecology of marine-phase Atlantic salmon and inform investigations into stock-specific differences in marine productivity.