Search

With the decline of many of the world's fisheries, increased regulation, including marine protected areas (MPA), forms an increasingly important role in promoting sustainable resource use. Here, we present a novel "real-time" genetic monitoring programme used to protect the depleted Norwegian coastal cod stock (NCC) in an MPA during the spawning season, while a fishery targeted at the sustainable Northeast Arctic cod stock (NEAC) operates immediately outside. In the period 2009-2016,>6800 cod from the fishery were genotyped with the PanI locus that is discriminatory between these two stocks. The estimated fraction of NEAC increased during the study period until 2014; however, it did not exceed 70% for any sustained period. Therefore, the MPA remained closed for commercial harvest. Genetic analysis of eggs revealed a distinctly lower fraction of NEAC than in the catch from the adult stock, both immediately outside and within the MPA itself. We suggest that this discrepancy is likely to reflect differences in spawning areas used by NCC and NEAC. Estimated fractions of NEAC/NCC using PanI, otolith classification, and 39 single nucleotide polymorphisms were similar, thus validating the use of PanI to estimate NEAC/NCC composition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Investigations of genetic stock structure sometimes reveal a mismatch between management units and biological units. In Scandinavian waters, Norway lobster (Nephrops norvegicus) is divided into two management units (the Skagerrak–Kattegat and the Norwegian Deep). We have tested the population genetic structure of Nephrops within this region using microsatellite DNA markers, and compared the structure with the present management units. Our study suggests no population genetic structure of Nephrops within the Skagerrak, Kattegat, and Norwegian Deep region, whereas a shallow genetic structure was detected on a larger geographical scale when comparing outgroup samples from Scotland and Iceland. We found indications of sex-biased dispersal as the overall genetic differences were larger for females. Ocean current patterns suggest that Nephrops stocks in the region may be connected by larval drift. The two areas differ in fishing pressure, monitoring, assessment, and regulations, which is an argument for maintaining the present two-areas management regime despite the evidence for one biological population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Northeast Arctic cod (Gadus morhua L.: NEAC) remains the most abundant cod stock in the North Atlantic, while the catches of the partially co-occurring Norwegian coastal cod (NCC) stocks have dramatically decreased in recent years. To ensure effective management of the two stocks, it is necessary to know if the population genetic structure is associated with any pattern in the spatial dynamics or whether it is affected by any distinct environmental factors. By combining information from electronic data storage tags (DST) and molecular genetics methods with statistical tools, we have been able to associate spatial dynamics and distinct environmental factors to the two cod stocks. In general, adult NEAC migrate between deep, warm overwintering grounds and shallow summer feeding grounds where water temperatures maybe low. In contrast, NCC do not undertake large-scale seasonal migrations, show little seasonal variation in depth distribution, and experience the opposite seasonal change in temperature compared with NEAC. However, within the NCC group, some individuals did conduct longer horizontal movements than others. Even though the distances calculated in this study represent the shortest distance between release and recapture positions, they are far higher than previously reported by NCC. Distinctive depth profiles indicate that this migrant NCC have moved out of the area, passing the deep trenches outside Lofoten while more stationary NCC occupies shallower depths throughout the year. The temperature profiles also indicate that migrant and stationary NCC has occupied different areas during the year. We demonstrate that the combination of information from DSTs and molecular genetics offers a deeper understanding of individual cod behaviour, provides an insight in the spatial dynamics of the species, and ultimately, improves the scientific basis for management of a complex mixed fishery of Atlantic cod. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Understanding the genetic differentiation among populations of most marine fish requires investigating the differences among spawning grounds. However, this can be challenging as spawning grounds for some species are not well known, or spawning fish are difficult to collect. An alternative is to collect juvenile fish in nursery habitats closely associated with potential spawning grounds. Greenland halibut is a deep-dwelling, commercially important species with at least two identified major offshore spawning grounds in the North Atlantic and weak genetic differentiation across the Atlantic. In this study, we sampled juveniles from three sites representing the Davis Strait spawning area in the northwest Atlantic and one site in the northeast Atlantic representing the primary spawning area along the western slope of the Barents Sea. We applied genotype by sequencing and discovered 90 genetic markers that could be used to assess genetic differentiation among the four sites. The northeast and northwest Atlantic showed major genetic differentiation, supporting the existence of the two primary spawning clusters. Additionally, we found genetic differentiation between the three northwest Atlantic samples implying the existence of more than one spawning area in the northwest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many marine organisms have a permanent presence both inshore and offshore and spawn in multiple areas, yet their status as separate populations or stocks remain unclear. This is the situation for the northern shrimp (Pandalus borealis) around the Arctic Ocean, which in northern Norway represents an important income for a small-scale coastal fishery and a large-vessel offshore fleet. In Norwegian waters, we uncovered two distinct genetic clusters, viz. a Norwegian coastal and a Barents Sea cluster. Shrimps with a mixed heritage from the Norwegian coastal and the Barents Sea clusters, and genetically different from both, inhabit the fjords at the northernmost coast (Finnmark). Genetic structure between fjords did not display any general trend, and only the Varangerfjord in eastern Finnmark displayed significant genetic structure within the fjord. Shrimps in the Finnmark fjords differed in some degree from shrimps both in the adjacent Barents Sea and along the rest of the coast and should probably be considered a separate management unit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Identification of cryptic species can have profound implications in fishery management, conservation and biodiversity contexts. In the North Atlantic, the genus Sebastes is currently represented by four species, although additional cryptic species have been assumed. The connectivity of the gene-pools within the genus in Greenland waters, in particular, remains largely unexplored. Using a panel of 13 microsatellite markers for 720 fish, we explored the species complex of Sebastes norvegicus in Greenland waters. Genetic analyses provided evidence for three cryptic species in samples that were morphologically identified as S. norvegicus. They were termed S. norvegicus -A, S. norvegicus -B, and S. norvegicus- giants. A few phenotypic features exist to identify adult S. norvegicus giants, but no characteristics have been identified for the two other cryptic species. The proposed cryptic species should be recognized in the management regime to ensure sustainable exploitation and conservation of Sebastes species in Greenland waters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The identification of isolated populations in widely distributed marine species is often impeded by low levels of genetic differentiation. However, modern genetic approaches now allow for the efficient detection of potentially large numbers of novel genetic variations, thereby improving the power to identify biologically meaningful management units. To investigate the genetic structuring of saithe (Pollachius virens L.), we applied seascape genetic approaches to 131 single nucleotide polymorphism loci genotyped in 584 fish collected from 11 locations across the North Atlantic. Wombling analysis and the Monmonier algorithm revealed four genetic clusters (Barents Sea, Central Northeast Atlantic, Rockall, and Canada) across the species distribution range. These results imply that genetic structuring in saithe maybe influenced by abiotic factors such as geographical distance, and bathymetry as well as biotic factors such as sex-biased migration, and natal homing. The results suggest a potential mismatch between management and biological units across the Northeast Atlantic, which may have implications for sustainable exploitation of the species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cadrin, S. X., Bernreuther, M., Daníelsdóttir, A. K., Hjörleifsson, E., Johansen, T., Kerr, L., Kristinsson, K., Mariani, S., Nedreaas, K., Pampoulie, C., Planque, B., Reinert, J., Saborido-Rey, F., Sigurðsson, T., and Stransky, C. 2010. Population structure of beaked redfish, Sebastes mentella: evidence of divergence associated with different habitats. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 67: 1617–1630.Throughout their range, Sebastes spp. are adapted to a diversity of ecological niches, with overlapping spatial distributions of different species that have little or no morphological differences. Divergence of behavioural groups into depth-defined adult habitats has led to reproductive isolation, adaptive radiation, and speciation in the genus Sebastes. Recent genetic research, supported by life-history information, indicates four biological stocks of Sebastes mentella in the Irminger Sea and adjacent waters: a western stock, a deep-pelagic stock, a shallow-pelagic stock, and an Iceland slope stock. Congruent differences in fatty acids and parasites suggest that these genetically distinct populations are adapted to disparate trophic habitats in pelagic waters (shallower and deeper than the deep-scattering layer) and in demersal habitats on the continental slope. Morphology of pelagic forms is also more streamlined than demersal forms. Although genetic differences and evidence for reproductive isolation are clear, these populations appear to share common nursery habitats on the Greenland shelf. We propose a redefinition of practical management units near the Irminger Sea based on geographic proxies for biological stocks and minimizing mixed-stock catches according to the spatial patterns of the recent fishery. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In a warmer Arctic, living conditions will change at all trophic levels of the marine ecosystem. Increased air and water temperatures will likely substantially reduce ice coverage. Trophic interactions might change and increased competition between resident Arctic species and invasive species seems likely. A theme session on “Marine harvesting in the Arctic” was held at the international Arctic Frontiers Conference in Tromsø, Norway, in January 2013. The theme session partitioned the topic into two sub-sessions: (i) introduced species, immigration and fate of resident species and (ii) prospective harvesting of marine biological resources in the Arctic. The four articles that follow this introduction are based on presentations made at the Arctic Frontiers theme session. These articles cover topics such as: how ice breeding seals (Pagophilus groenlandicus) can cope with ice retention in the Northwest Atlantic, how planktonic stages of the resident polar cod (Boreogadus saida) and the pole-ward expanding Pacific sand lance (Ammodytes hexapterus) may compete for food in the warming Beaufort Sea, and how the introduced red king crab (Paralithodes camtschaticus) disperse in the Barents Sea. The fourth article shows how differences in the life-history strategies of keystone zooplankton species will likely affect future productivity of commercial fisheries in polar regions. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]