Abstract
The availability of growth data in N. norvegicus is important for management purposes due to a lack of aging criteria and the commercial importance of fisheries in this species. Growth varies as a function of stock density, hence comparisons of growth rates between stocks at known density is particularly valuable. Growth is also related to starting size in males, making raw data on size-specific growth rates more valuable. Internally injected passive tags allowed us to track the growth of male and female individuals over one or two years. The spatial position of tagged recaptures was recorded to measure site fidelity of tagged releases. A total of 3300 pots were fished and their spatial positions were recorded to enable Catch Per Unit Effort calculations. Similarly, spatially geo-referenced v-notching and notched recovery enables spatially gridded densities to be calculated. Finally, acoustic mapping was carried out both on and off the fishing ground and was ground-truthed with sedimentology from grabs at 22 stations. These data are useful for fisheries and macroecological studies.
Highlights
Background & SummaryNephrops norvegicus is a small lobster in North-East Atlantic Europe and the Mediterranean where it occupies burrows in muddy substrates[1]
A tagging programme was carried out in inshore grounds to provide information on the growth of individuals after one year (n = 205) or two years at liberty (n = 36), with approximately equal numbers of recaptured males (n = 108) and females (n = 132)
This enables growth to be compared between the study site in the west of Ireland and other parts of the biogeographic range, or allows data to be filtered according to particular starting sizes
Summary
Nephrops norvegicus is a small lobster in North-East Atlantic Europe and the Mediterranean where it occupies burrows in muddy substrates[1]. A tagging programme was carried out in inshore grounds to provide information on the growth of individuals after one year (n = 205) or two years at liberty (n = 36), with approximately equal numbers of recaptured males (n = 108) and females (n = 132) (sex was not recorded for one individual). This enables growth to be compared between the study site in the west of Ireland and other parts of the biogeographic range, or allows data to be filtered according to particular starting sizes (starting size significantly affects growth in males[20]). Acoustic surveys were complemented by sediment grab samples to match acoustically derived sediment classes to standard sediment categories
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