Distribution and abundance of flatfish on the South American continental shelf from Suriname to Colombia

Abstract

This study is based on data collected during four trawl surveys conducted in 1988 on the South American continental shelf from Suriname to Colombia. Members of four flatfish families were caught in depths ranging from 15 to 410 m at 264 of the 1200 stations trawled: Bothidae (13 genera, 30 species), Cynoglossidae (1 genus, 4 species), Soleidae (3 genera, 4 species) and Pleuronectidae (1 genus, 3 species). Flatfish comprised less than 5% of total catch by weight at most stations. Hierarchical cluster analysis revealed between 4 and 6 groups of stations in each survey characterized according to depth, temperature and species associations. Cynoglossids, soleids and some bothids characterized shallow-water stations while bothids and pleuronectids characterized intermediate and deep-water stations. Highest catches were taken off northern Venezuela and Colombia during times of increased upwelling and in areas influenced by river runoff. Mean density of flatfish was less than 0.0005 ind·m −2. The major species caught were Paralichthys tropicus, Paralichthys lethostigma, Cyclopsetta chittendeni, Syacium micrurum, Syacium papillosum,, Syacium sp. and Symphurus plagiusa and range extensions were found for six species.