Breine, N.

Hostens, K.

Vanden Bavière, A.

Volckaert, F.

Open Marine Archive

 74 
Small scale flatfish nursery differences in the southern Bight of the 
North Sea 
Breine Naomi
1
, Vanden Bavière Andreas
1
, Volckaert Filip
2
 and Hostens Kris
2 
1
  Aquatic Environment and Quality, Research Institute for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (ILVO), 
Ankerstraat 1, 8400 Oostende, Belgium 
 E-mail: naomi.breine@ilvo.vlaanderen.be 
2
  Laboratory of Biodiversity and Evolutionary Genomics, Catholic University Leuven, 
Ch. Deberiotstraat 32, 3000 Leuven, Belgium 
 
Shallow coastal areas and estuaries in the Southern North Sea function as a nursery area for many 
marine species. The nurseries may differ significantly in quality along a small spatial scale caused by 
local (a)biotic conditions, and therefore nurseries will differ in recruitment output to the adult 
population. Determining nursery areas where fish body condition and abundance is high is a valuable 
tool to evaluate and form coastal zone management and policy making. In this study we will examine 
if there are small scale differences in (a)biotic variables, abundance, growth and condition among 
intertidal and subtidal flatfish nursery areas along the French – Belgian coast. Also, it has been more 
than 15 years since data on Belgian flatfish nurseries has been collected. Sampling occurred monthly 
in 2013 and 2014, in 5 intertidal ‘beach’ stations and 8 subtidal ‘Sea’ stations. Length, weight and 
abundance data of 6 juvenile flatfish species were obtained (Plaice, Turbot, Dab, Brill, Flounder and 
Sole), the epibenthic community was sampled and data on abiotic parameters such as temperature, 
salinity, depth and sediment were gathered. Preliminary results indicate that both environmental and 
biological data showed significant temporal and spatial variation, and with further analysis we will 
infer what parameters are responsible for the observed abundance patterns, what factors are 
important for flatfish settlement. 
 
Keywords: nursery area; juvenile flatfish; small scale variability; French-Belgian coast  


Small scale flatfish nursery differences in the southern Bight of the North Sea

http://www.vliz.be/imisdocs/publications/311584.pdf

Small scale flatfish nursery differences in the southern Bight of the North Sea

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