Atlantic Herring (Clupea harengus) Distributions in the Gulf of Maine – Scotian Shelf Area in Relation to Oceanographic Features

Abstract

There are clear, temporally persistent patterns in the spatial distributions of Atlantic herring (Clupea harengus) at various life history stages. Three areas of potential importance for summer feeding and overwintering and one juvenile nursery area are described. In contrast, there are several well-defined spawning locations and larval distributional areas. The distributional patterns infer considerable between-population mixing at all phases of the life history except at spawning time itself and during the first several months of the larval phase. The life history distributions are interpreted in relation to tidally induced oceanographic features of the area. The specific locations of spawning and the associated larval distributions are interpreted to be a function of the location of physical features associated with "larval retention." The summer-feeding areas are associated with the location of tidally induced temperature fronts where plankton production is high. The larval distributional areas are argued to be occupied in spite of their particular plankton characteristics rather than because of them. The observed distributions are not consistent with some fisheries biology theories.