Interannual decrease in condition factor of the western sand lance Ammodytes japonicus in Japan in the last decade: Evidence for food‐limited decline of the catch

Abstract

AbstractAnnual catch of the western sand lance Ammodytes japonicus in the eastern Seto Inland Sea, Japan, has shown a decreasing trend since the 1990s. To examine whether food shortage was the main cause for the catch decrease, we investigated the condition factor of the age‐0 fish at the beginning of the estivation period (late July) in Harima‐Nada, eastern Seto Inland Sea, for 10 years from 2008 to 2017. The mean abundance of copepods as food for the age‐0 fish during the fish growth period (from February to June) around the estivation area was also determined. The condition factor showed a significant decrease, and values for 2011 and later years were mostly lower than the known minimum threshold (4.2) for maturation. In the recent 4 years from 2013 to 2016, the mean copepod abundance was much lower than values for the other years. The condition factor showed a significant positive correlation with the copepod abundance. These results indicate that decline of western sand lance catch after 1990 was caused mainly by food shortage.