Nursery ground processes for junenile plaice in Icelandic waters

No abstracts are to be cited without prior reference to the author.

Sandy shore ecosystems are essential nursery grounds for flatfish species where both the quality and quantity of habitat can control the recruitment processes. Juvenile plaice (Pleuronectes platessa) can be found in high densities on the spatially restricted sandy-bottom beaches all around Iceland. The objective was to analyse the distinctive features of a highly fertile nursery ground. The interannual variability in settlement, density and growth of juvenile plaice was examined biweekly from spring to fall at a highly fertile nursery ground (Helguvík in Álftanes) in SW-Iceland from 2005 to presence. Newly settled individuals were first observed in the end of May to early June and settlement lasted until mid-July and densities peaked in early July. The inter-annual variability in density and growth of juvenile plaice on the nursery ground and the subsequent year-class strength derived from survey of nearby important fishing ground (Faxaflói) is discussed.