Acronym WINFISH
Category
Fisheries
Title Role of vertical mixing processes and dense water formation in the spawning strategy and recruitment of winter breeding fishes in the NW Mediterranean Programme National Programme
Instrument (FP6)
Contact Type (FP7)
Strand (Interreg)
NA
Theme (FP7)
Activity Area (FP6)
Regional Area (Interreg)
Action (COST)
NA
Specific Programme (FP7)
NA
Funding source National Coordinator NA Coordinator email NA
Coordinator institution
CSIC - Spanish National Research Council (Spain)
Institutions involved
NA
Start year 2016 End year 2019 Funding (€) € 217,800 Website NA Summary The Gulf of Lions, in the NW Mediterranean Sea, is a well-known region where open sea convection and deep water formation can occur on a yearly basis due to winter heat losses and evaporation caused by cold and dry northerly winds. Fluctuations in the intensity of this phenomenon have been related with year-to-year variability in timing, spatial extent and intensity of phytoplankton blooms and zooplankton production, the larval fish food. It is well known, that factors driving the spawning site selection in fishes, which provides larvae and juveniles favorable environment for feeding and protection from predation, determine subsequent recruitment rates. In the NW Mediterranean, during the winter period, the fish species of cold water affinity reproduce, most of them of high commercial interest.
The main objective of this project is to elucidate how the environmental conditions associated to the dense water formation and vertical mixing in winter in the NW Mediterranean determine the success of fish spawning and subsequent recruitment. To this aim, two species have been selected: blue whiting, micromesistius poutassou, and sardine, sardina pilchardus, reproducing in winter in the open sea and over the shelf, respectively. These are abundant species, of high commercial interest, and information is available on historic landings. One of the goals of the project is to accomplish the objectives by integrating different fields of marine research, as physical oceanography, plankton ecology and fisheries.
The specific objectives of the project are: 1) in situ characterization of the environmental conditions at the winter peak, both over the shelf and in open sea, after the episodes of deep water formation (mid february-march), and remote monitoring of the evolution of the subsequent phytoplankton bloom; 2) in situ determination of the abundance and distribution (horizontal and vertical) of fish eggs and larvae of the target species and the other fish species reproducing during the same season; 3) determination of the trophic interactions between fish larvae of the target species and planktonic communities under the influence of physical processes. 4) to establish the timing and strength of the recruitment of the target species in relation to the winter episodes, the evolution of the subsequent phytoplankton bloom and the progression of the demographic structure in the following months. 5) definition of environmental indicators for the cause- effect relationship that explain the interannual recruitment variability of the selected target species with a view to catch forecast.
Another issue to consider is that species that spawn in winter will likely be more vulnerable to suffer the impact of climate change, because of the progressive increase of temperature in the Mediterranean. This study may help to determine the degree of dependence of these species to winter processes and thus its vulnerability to the environmental changes taking place in the Mediterranean.
The results of this study will allow establishing the link between winter environmental processes related with the deep water formation and vertical mixing in the NW Mediterranean and the recruitment processes of the fish species that reproduces during this period. This knowledge is essential to an adequate management its fisheries.
Keywords
Fisheries management;
Fish;
Recruitment;
Fish biology;
Sardine;
Fish reproduction;
Marine Region
49
Gulf of Lions (GSA 7)
1
Marine Region Map
