Spatio-temporal patterns of macrourid fish species in the northern Mediterranean Sea

• DOI: 10.3989/scimar.04889.11a
• Publication Date: 2019-04-11T13:34:14Z
• Authors: Cristina García-Ruiz; Manuel Hidalgo; Paolo Carpentieri; Ulla Fernandez-Ar...; Palma Gaudio; María González; Angelique Jadaud; Antonello Mulas; Panagiota Periste...; José Luis Rueda; Sergio Vitale; Gianfranco D’Onghia
• Keywords: bathymetric distribution; spatio-temporal trends; Macrourid; Spatio-temporal trend; mediterranean; SH1-691; macrourids; Mediterranean; bathymetric distribution; geographic distribution; spatio-temporal trends; deep-sea; trawl survey; Mediterranean; 01 natural sciences; tendencias espacio-temporales; Bathymetric distribution; macrúridos; Mediterráneo; distribución batimétrica; distribución geográfica; tendencias espacio-temporales; mar profundo; campaña de arrastre; geographic distribution; Aquaculture. Fisheries. Angling; Pesquerías; 14. Life underwater; Mediterráneo; macrúridos; 0105 earth and related environmental sciences; mar profundo; macrourids; deep-sea; Deep-sea; Trawl survey; Spatio-temporal trends; Macrourids; Centro Oceanográfico de Málaga; distribución geográfica; campaña de arrastre; Geographic distribution; distribución batimétrica; trawl survey

The present study describes for the first time the spatial distribution of five macrourid species throughout the Mediterranean Sea and analyses depth, geographical and time-related trends regarding their abundance, biomass and mean fish weight. The data were collected as part of the MEDITS annual bottom trawl survey carried out by several European Mediterranean countries from 1994 to 2015, using the same standardized gear and sampling protocol. The most represented species in terms of abundance and biomass was Coelorinchus caelorhincus. The bathymetric trend was different for each species. The shallowest occurring species was C. caelorhincus, followed by Hymenocephalus italicus and Nezumia sclerorhynchus, while Nezumia aequalis and Trachyrincus scabrus were the deepest. Overall, the mean weight of all the species increased with depth. C. caelorhincus and H. italicus occurred in the entire study area: the first species showed relatively high catches in most areas, while the second was more abundant in the central and easternmost areas. N. aequalis and T. scabrus were mainly reported in the western basin, and N. sclerorhynchus in the central-eastern areas of the Mediterranean. An increasing inter-annual trend in abundance was only detected for C. caelorhincus and N. sclerorhynchus, while variable fluctuations were observed in the other species.