Aquatic Sciences Meeting, Albuquerque 2001

SS42 American Fisheries Society/ASLO Joint Session: Scaling Fisheries From Egg to Adult and Back Again (Spatial and Temporal Connections)

Date: Wednesday, February 14, 2001, Time: 11:15:00 AM

Location: Sandia/Santa Ana

Govoni, J, J, NOAA-NOS-NCCOS, Beaufort, USA, Jeff.Govoni@noaa.gov

Hare, J, A, NOAA-NOS-NCCOS, Beaufort, USA, Jon.Hare@noaa.gov

TOWARD AN ASSESSMENT OF THE CHARLESTON GYRE AS A SPAWNING AND LARVAL NURSERY HABITAT FOR FISHES

Pelagic spawning and nursery habitat for fishes in the coastal ocean can only be identified and described by coupling physical, biological and fisheries oceanography. The region of the outer continental shelf and upper slope, encompassed by 32 and 33N and 78 and 79W, is unique within the southeastern coast of the US because of the frequent presence of large cyclonic eddies. These eddies develop continuously north of the Charleston Bump and decay downstream. The cyclonic circulation of these eddies brings nutrients from deep and off the shelf edge to near surface and results in enhanced primary production. Succession of zooplankton within eddies might serve fishery production by providing an exceptional, and more continuous food supply for larval fishes spawned in or entrained into eddies. Larval fishes that risk entrainment into the Gulf Stream and loss from local populations, can be retained when embedded within these eddies. The residence of eddies ranges from 1 week to 1-2 months; larval periods range from weeks to months. Research aimed at assessing this potential is underway; preliminary results from three cruises of opportunity are described.

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Aquatic Sciences Meeting, Albuquerque 2001

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