The use of CPR data in fisheries research

• Published in: Progress in Oceanography
• Main Authors: Corten, A.A.H.M., Lindley, J.A.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: 2003
• Subjects: abundance; c-helgolandicus; calanoid copepods; cod; eastern north-atlantic; long-term trends; plankton; scomber-scombrus l; sea; zooplankton; Calanus finmarchicus; North Atlantic; Copepods
• Online Access: https://research.wur.nl/en/publications/the-use-of-cpr-data-in-fisheries-research; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pocean.2003.08.008

The Continuous Plankton Recorder (CPR) survey was initiated partly to contribute to our understanding of the variability of fish stocks and as a potential method for predicting fish distributions from the abundance and composition of the plankton. The latter objective has been superseded by technological developments in fish detection, but the former has been the subject of continuing, and in recent years expanding use of the CPR data. Examples are presented of application of the data to studies on North Sea herring, cod, mackerel, blue whiting and redfish as well as more general plankton studies relevant to fisheries research. Variations in the migration patterns of herring as well as recruitment have been related to abundances and species composition of the plankton in the CPR survey. Extensive use has been made of the CPR data in relation to cod, particularly in the development and testing of the `match-mismatch' hypothesis. Advection of sufficient numbers of Calanus from the core oceanic areas of its distribution into the areas where the cod stocks occur may partly determine the success of those stocks. The analysis of the distribution and abundances of mackerel larvae in the CPR survey have shown contrasting variations between the North Sea and Celtic Sea. The expansion of the horse mackerel fishery in the north-eastern North Sea since 1987 has been related to physical events and a `regime shift' in the plankton, described from CPR data. The oceanic spawning areas of the blue whiting and redfish were highlighted by the expansion of the CPR survey into the north-eastern and north-western Atlantic respectively. These results helped to focus the attention of fisheries scientists on stocks that have subsequently become the targets for commercial exploitation. The results of the CPR survey, particularly those on Calanus finmarchicus, the phytoplankton standing stock as measured by the CPR colour index, the overall patterns of trends in plankton abundance and distributions of indicator species have been used by ...