Larval connectivity of northern shrimp (Pandalus borealis) in the Northwest Atlantic

• Main Authors: Le Corre, Nicolas, Pepin, Pierre, Burmeister, AnnDorte, Walkusz, Wojciech, Skanes, Katherine, Wang, Zeliang, Brickman, David, Snelgrove, Paul V.R.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: unknown
• Published: NRC Research Press (a division of Canadian Science Publishing) 2020
• Subjects: Baffin Island; Canada; Greenland; Baffin; Newfoundland; North Atlantic; northern shrimp; Northwest Atlantic; Pandalus borealis
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/1807/100875; http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/abs/10.1139/cjfas-2019-0454

Northern shrimp (Pandalus borealis) represents one of the most important fisheries in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean, but few studies have considered connectivity among different management units (i.e., stocks). Using a biophysical model, we investigated potential larval dispersal among North Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO) divisions and its interannual variability during the long pelagic larval phase of P. borealis (∼3 months). Overall, we found a largely stable, stream-like larval connectivity system driven by the main currents that flow over both the Greenland and Canadian continental shelves, with a relatively low but consistent exchange of larvae between Greenland and Canada across the Baffin Island continental shelf. We observed highest potential settlement densities on the northwestern Greenland and Newfoundland shelves, representing retention areas that correspond to highest abundances of adult shrimp. Intermittent and variable larval exchanges of lower magnitude also occurred between populations less obviously associated with the major circulation features. Our study improves understanding of northern shrimp stock–recruitment relationships at the metapopulation level, which could help determine the appropriate spatial scale to improve management strategies. The accepted manuscript in pdf format is listed with the files at the bottom of this page. The presentation of the authors' names and (or) special characters in the title of the manuscript may differ slightly between what is listed on this page and what is listed in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript; that in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript is what was submitted by the author.