A holistic investigation of tracers at population and individual scales reveals population structure for the common sole of the Eastern English Channel

Abstract

The sustainable exploitation of sea resources is based on the understanding of population distribution, structure and functioning. The mismatch between stock units and fish populations can dramatically bias the assessment and lead to irrelevant or even detrimental management measures. The common sole of the Eastern English Channel (EEC; ICES division VIId) is a flatfish species of high interest that has been overexploited over the last decades. Low connectivity induced by early life stages across the stock was previously known, but gaps remained regarding the role of adults in population connectivity and spatial structure. In this study we have filled these gaps by (1) gathering all the information on stock identity through five population- and individual-based approaches, and (2) combining this information in a semi-quantitative framework, i.e. the Stock Differentiation Index (SDI). Regarding the population-based approaches, growth and abundance-at-age analyses highlighted a lasting signal of population structure, with three population subunits. Regarding the individual-based approaches, genetic analysis highlighted low but significant genetic differentiation between the three subunits over an evolutionary time scale. Besides, a mark-recapture study demonstrated a low level of exchange between these subunits. Finally, an analysis of otolith shape pinpointed spatial variation between the three subunits. Overall, the SDI = 0.93 suggested evidence of spatial structure. The misalignment of the current stock definition with the underlying biological metapopulation now requires the improvement of the assessment-management to ensure its sustainable exploitation.