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Recruitment and body size in relation to temperature in juvenile Patagonian toothfish (Dissostichus eleginoides) at South Georgia

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Abstract

Recruitment variability in juvenile Patagonian toothfish (Dissostichus eleginoides), a commercially important, deepwater nototheniid fish, was examined at the sub-Antarctic island of South Georgia, South Atlantic. Data from 13 demersal trawl surveys conducted over a 20-year period were analysed. Abundance of the 1+ juvenile fish cohort (13–15 month old dependent on survey date) was found to vary inter-annually and was found to be inversely correlated with the sea surface temperature (SST) conditions experienced by adults prior to spawning. Environmental temperatures experienced by toothfish eggs and larvae were not significantly correlated with juvenile density. The mean length of 1+ fish attained after 13–15 months was higher in years of high juvenile abundance and was significantly inversely correlated with SST in the summer prior to adult spawning. Trends in toothfish recruitment variability mirrored those previously observed in a range of krill-dependent land-based predators at South Georgia for whom non-seasonal, large-scale climatic events such as El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) are considered the most likely underlying drivers of variability in breeding success. The drivers of recruitment variability in toothfish are not fully understood but a range of possible mechanisms are considered. A better understanding of recruitment variability holds great interest for fisheries managers and could be used refine forecasts of years of good or poor recruitment for the toothfish fishery at South Georgia.

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank the officers and crew of all research vessels involved in South Georgia surveys since 1986. We are indebted to the scientists who have assisted with the at-sea biological sampling over the years. We are grateful to P. Rothery (CEH) for providing statistical advice and to two anonymous referees for improving the manuscript. The study was funded by the Government of South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands (GSGSSI) and contributes to the BAS DISCOVERY 2010 programme.

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  1. British Antarctic Survey, Natural Environment Research Council, High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge, CB3 0ET, UK

    Mark Belchier & Martin A. Collins

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  1. Mark Belchier
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  2. Martin A. Collins
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Correspondence to Mark Belchier.

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Communicated by U. Sommer.

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Belchier, M., Collins, M.A. Recruitment and body size in relation to temperature in juvenile Patagonian toothfish (Dissostichus eleginoides) at South Georgia. Mar Biol 155, 493–503 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-008-1047-3

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