Length Distributions and Recruitment Index of Northern Shrimp (Pandalus borealis) in Flemish Cap (Division 3M) in 1993-1998, as Inferred from Stomach Contents Analysis of Cod (Gadus morhua), Greenland halibut (Reinhardtius hippoglossoides) and Thorny Skate (Raja radiata)

• Main Authors: Rodriguez-Marin, E. (Enrique), Río-Iglesias, J.L. (José Luis) del
• Format: Report
• Language: English
• Published: Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO) 1999
• Subjects: Greenland; Gadus morhua; North Atlantic; northern shrimp; Northwest Atlantic; Pandalus borealis
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10508/1694

From stomachs of cod (Gadus morhua), Greenland halibut (Reinhardtius hippoglossoides) and thorny skate (Raja radiata) sampled in the fishing surveys carried out in Flemish Cap in July from 1993 to 1998, the importance in diet, predator-prey relationship and length frequency of northern shrimp (Pandalus borealis) were evaluated. These three species prey on different lengths of northern shrimp as a function of their feeding habits and the overlap in their ranges of vertical distribution with that of their prey. The ability of these predators to sample different sizes of northern shrimp allows the observation of the annual progression of strong year classes of this prey and the estimate of its recruitment at age 2 from its frequency of occurrence in cod stomach contents from 1989 to 1997.