Changes in the spawning distribution and biomass of Atlantic mackerel (Scomber scombrus) in the western Atlantic Ocean over 4 decades

Details

• Journal Title:
  Fishery Bulletin
• Personal Author:
  Richardson, David E. ; Carter, Lauren ; Curti, Kiersten L. ; Marancik, Katrin E. ; Castonguay, Martin
• NOAA Program & Office:
  NMFS (National Marine Fisheries Service) ; NEFSC (Northeast Fisheries Science Center)
• Description:
  The Atlantic mackerel
  
  (Scomber scombrus) has a wide distribution off North America that changes
  
  substantially seasonally and interannually, challenging attempts to track
  
  changes in stock size. We used egg collections to develop an index of spawning
  
  stock biomass for the southern contingent of Atlantic mackerel that spawns
  
  in U.S. waters. These results were combined with those from an egg survey of
  
  the northern contingent that spawns
  
  in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Canada,
  
  to develop the only available stockwide index. Egg production of Atlantic
  
  mackerel in the western North Atlantic Ocean has dropped >90% from the
  
  1980s to the 2010s. The contribution of
  
  the southern contingent has generally
  
  been around 5–10%, except for during
  
  the late 1970s and early 1980s when it
  
  was 30–40%. On the continental shelf of
  
  the northeastern United States, there
  
  has been a northeastward shift in the
  
  distribution of eggs of Atlantic mackerel, with low levels of egg production
  
  recently at the historically important
  
  spawning location off southern New
  
  England. Overall, the index of spawning stock biomass generated from surveys in the waters of the United States
  
  and Canada provides a much needed
  
  means of tracking fluctuations in the
  
  biomass of this commercially valuable
  
  migratory species.
  
  
• Keywords:
  Atlantic mackerel
• Source:
  Fishery Bulletin, 118, 120-134
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.7755/FB.118.2.2
• Document Type:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Atlantic Ocean
• Rights Information:
  CC BY
• Compliance:
  Submitted
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha256:4e80c2d8a04fc5bfa9f248d147c2b3a24780e444250a48f8a62a5de90f87bc96
• Download URL:
  https://repository.library.noaa.gov/view/noaa/31565/noaa_31565_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.47 MB ]