The cephalopods of the Namibian coast ( SE Atlantic)

Suplemento de Investigación Pesquera.-- 20 pages, 19 figuresPeer Reviewe

An annotated list of cephalopod larvae collected off the Mediterranean coasts of Spain, 1976-1981

3 pages, 1 figure[EN] The identified cephalopod larvae come from biological samples collected during four surveys with a 40 cm diameter Bongo device fitted with 333 u.m and 505 um mesh size nets : Mediterraneo I (October 1976), Mediterraneo II (March 1977), Tanit (August 1979) and Maira I (December 1981). The area covered included the Mediterranean coast of Spain between Cabo Creus in the north and Cabo Palos in the south, and between Spain's mainland and the Balearic Islands. The following cephalopod taxa were identified : Rossia macrosoma, Abraliopsis morisii, Thelidioteuthis alessandrinii, Onychoteuthis banksi, Ancistroteuthis lichtensteini, Histioteuthis reversa, Ctenopteryx sicula, Illex coindetii, Rynchoteuthion larvae, Galiteuthis sp., Octopus vulgaris, Octopus sp., Eledone cirrhosa, Macrotritopus larvae, Argonauta argo, and some unidentified représentatives of the families Sepiolidae, Loliginidae, Cranchiidae and Octopodidae[FR] Les larves de Céphalopodes identifiées ont été récoltées pendant quatre campagnes à l'aide de filets Bongo (mailles de 333 à 505 u.m) : Mediterraneo I (Octobre, 1976), Mediterraneo II (Mars, 1977), Tanit (août, 1979) et Maira I (Décembre, 1981). L'aire d'étude est située entre le Cap Creus au nord et le Cap Palos au sud, et entre la côte espagnole et les îles Baléares. Les espèces suivantes ont été trouvées : Rossia macrosoma, Abraliopsis morisii, Thelidioteuthis alessandrinii, Onychoteuthis banksi, Ancistroteuthis lichtensteini, Histioteuthis reversa, Ctenopteryx sicula, Illex coindetii, Rynchoteuthion larvae, Galiteuthis sp., Octopus vulgaris, Octopus sp., Eledone cirrhosa, Macrotritopus larvae, Argonauta argo, et quelques représentants non identifiés des familles Sepiolidae, Loliginidae, Cranchiidae et OctopodidaePeer reviewe

Age and growth of the sparids Diplodus vulgaris, D. sargus and D. annularis in adult populations and the differences in their juvenile growth patterns in the north-western Mediterranean Sea

7 pages, 2 figures, 1 tableAge and growth patterns of adults of three common species of sparids, Diplodus vulgaris, D. sargus and D. annularis from the north-western Mediterranean Sea are analyzed. Length-at-age values are estimated from otoliths and growth patterns are well described by the von Bertalanffy growth equation. The sampled length interval ranged from 8–40, 28 and 20 cm for D. sargus, D. vulgaris and D. annularis, respectively. The estimates of t0 for D. vulgaris and D. sargus, −0.67 and −0.74 respectively, indicate that the growth of these species during the first months of life do not adhere to the von Bertalanffy model. In contrast, for D. annularis the estimation of the origin of the von Bertalanffy model is close to zero (t0 = −0.03), suggesting that this species is faithful to this growth model from the beginning of settlement. The variations from juveniles to adults in the growth pattern are explained by the permanence or the variations of the habitat of each of the species throughout their lifeThis research was funded by CICYT (MAR 95-1785)Peer Reviewe

Growth performance of four wrasse species on the north-western Mediterranean coast

8 pages, 3 figures, 3 tablesAge and growth patterns of four common species of wrasses, Labrus merula, Coris julis, Symphodus roissali and Symphodus tinca, from the north-western Mediterranean sea are analyzed. Length-at-age values are estimated from otoliths from which the first annual hyaline ring is determined by reading daily rings. The growth patterns are well described by the yon Bertalanffy growth equation with the exception of S. tinca which showed an extremely high dispersion in the length-at-age distribution. The daily rings show the second hyaline ring as the first annual hyaline ring, whereas the first hyaline ring was formed after 2 months of life coinciding with the settlement period of these species, which indicates that changes in otolith crystal growth during the first year of life could be driven by biological or physiological changes in the individualsThis research was funded by CICYT (MAR 95-1785)Peer Reviewe

Length-weight relationships of mesopelagic fishes in the North-Western Mediterranean

40th CIESM Congress: The largest Forum on Mediterranean and Black Sea Research, 28 October - 1 November 2013, Marseille, France.-- 1 page, 1 tableIn the present study we analysed the length-weight relationships of the most common and abundant mesopelagic fishes of the northwestern Mediterranean: 11 Myctophidae, 1 Gonostomatidae, 1 Phosichthyidae and 1 Sternoptichydae. Data of fish length and weight were fitted to a power function, and estimations of the fitted equation parameters were given as background information for subsequent studies on body condition. The slope estimation was taken as indicative of the relative increase in weight in relation to growth in length. The small fish Cyclothone braueri has a lower allometric coefficient with significant negative value, than that corresponding to larger species such as myctophids (some of them showing positive allometric growth)This research was funded by Spanish program CTM2008-04489-C03-01-02Peer Reviewe

Life history and fishery of Lepidopus caudatus (Pisces: Trichiuridae) in the Catalan Sea (Northwestern Mediterranean)

10 pages, 10 figures, 8 tablesThe frostfish Lepidopus caudatus (Euphrasen, 1788) is a mesopelagic species; it occurs along the shelf and slope down to 450 m in the Catalan Sea. Its' fishery, population structure, growth, diet and reproduction was studied on the basis of commercial statistics from 1984 to 1990 and on samplings made in 1988 and 1989. L. caudatus is fished by two types of commercial method, trawl and long-line; catches by the latter method display a marked seasonality. The minimum size of fish caught is 26 cm total length by trawling and 71 cm by long-line. Maximum sizes are similar for both gears: 196 and 188 cm, respectively. L. caudatus exhibits fast growth and attains an age of 8 yr. It feeds on small mesopelagic prey. It is a partial spawner reproductive activity occurring from April to November. Males attain sexual maturity at 97 cm and females at 111 cm total length. © 1993 Springer-Verla

Commercial feasibility trial for a single-warp deep-water “Maireta” (OTMS) trawl gear

10 pages, 6 figures, 6 tablesThe object of this study was to compare the effectiveness of a single-warp bottom trawl gear and a gear using two warps. The initial design for the gear was an experimental single-warp deep-water Otter trawl Maireta system gear (OTMS) highly suitable for working at considerable depth. From that basic design, two identical but larger gears were constructed for trawling by commercial vessels. The gears were deployed by two vessels with similar power ratings that trawled together in parallel at the same depth. A total of 23 trawls was carried out on fishing grounds on the shelf and slope at depths between 100 and 400 m off Barcelona. The total catch and size composition of the main commercial species in the samples taken by each gear were compared. There were no significant differences (p < 0.01) in catchability (kg/km2), in the size composition of the catches over the course of 1 week. It was concluded that in the conditions of the experiment, the yields obtained using the single-warp trawl gear were similar to those obtained using the two-warp trawl. The single-warp system required less warp line and shorter bridles and hence represented savings in operating costs. © 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reservedThis project was supported by a grant from the Ministry of Education and Culture of Spain (CICYT-PETRI 95-0236/OP) and by funding provided by the companies Artes de Pesca SALOM, S.L., Benicarló, Castellón; Maquinaria Naval MAPSA, S.A., Granollers, Barcelona; and Hispanova Marine Cantabria, S.A., Santander, CantabriaPeer Reviewe

Spawning habits of the warm water fish, Sardinella aurita at the northern limit of its distribution range (NW Mediterranean)

I Interntarional Symposium in Marine Sciences (ISMS07), Simposio GLOBER - IMBER España (2007), celebrado del 28 al 31 de marzo de 2007 en ValenciaPeer reviewe

Trophic position of meso-pelagic fishes in the western Mediterranean

Final workshop IDEADOS: The wrapping up of the IDEADOS project, International Workshop on Environment, Ecosystems and Demersal Resources and fisheries, 14-16 November 2012, Palma de Mallorca, SpainPeer reviewe

Demographic structure of early stages of Engraulis encrasicolus and Sardinella aurita and water mass circulation in the Southern Catalan sea

38th CIESM Congress, Istanbul, Turkey.-- 1 page, 1 figureThe demographic structure of the early stages of anchovy ( E. encrasicolus) and round sardinella ( S. aurita) in the southern Catalan sea in late June 2005 were analysed and results discussed based on the hydrographic situation. Contrasting to previous studies, distribution patterns showed an important overlap, with most of the larvae of both species located between the coast and the 200 m isobath (horizontal pattern) and between the surface and 30 m (vertical pattern)Peer reviewe