Two sympatric, not externally discernible and heavily-exploited deep species with coastal migration during spawning season: Implications for sustainable stocks management of Aphanopus carbo and A. intermedius around Madeira

• Main Authors: Vasconcelos, Joana, Sousa, Ricardo, Henriques, Paulo, Amorim, Antonieta, Delgado, João, Riera, Rodrigo
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: unknown
• Published: NRC Research Press (a division of Canadian Science Publishing) 2019
• Subjects: Northeast Atlantic
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/1807/97226; http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/abs/10.1139/cjfas-2018-0423

Several artisanal fisheries target deepwater species. These stocks are highly sensitive to overfishing because of their slow growth and late maturation. This vulnerability is higher if species concentrate during spawning season in coastal areas, as occur with scabbardfish (Aphanopus spp.). In this paper, we explore if two Aphanopus species (A. carbo and A. intermedius) that coexist show migration patterns to coastal areas during spawning. We analysed specimens of both species throughout 4 years (2014–2017) in a weekly basis and compare morphological parameters with the distance of the coast (coastal (<12 n.m.; 1 n.m. = 1.852 km) versus offshore (>12 n.m.)). Both species showed coastal patterns of migration during the spawning season (October–December), with 65.90% of total specimens of A. carbo and 51.60% of A. intermedius being caught at <12 n.m. during this season. Fishing events were also more numerous at <12 n.m. to the coast during spawning season (46.6%) relative to nonspawning season (32.6%). A series of management measures (e.g., October–December season) were developed to preserve Aphanopus stocks in the Northeast Atlantic Ocean. 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.