Understanding the role of turbulence on fisheries production during the first century of ICES

Since its inception, ICES has been concerned with the effect of hydrography on the abundance and distribution of fish and fish catches. One of the earliest and most significant oceanographic findings made by the ICES community was the influence of vertical mixing and turbulence on seasonal plankton production processes. This discovery, acquired over several decades of investigation, led to three major theories of fish population regulation and demonstrates the underlying impact that turbulence has on seasonal plankton and fish production. More recently, moderate levels of turbulence and upwelling have been shown to produce the highest recruitment among clupeid populations inhabiting major upwelling areas. The mechanism responsible for this pattern is a balance between the positive and negative effects of both turbulence and upwelling on plankton production, larval feeding, and advective processes. In one ICES upwelling zone (Bay of Biscay), recruitment of a local clupeid is related to some of these processes. This knowledge is contributing to the ICES assessment process for this stock. Frontal zones on continental shelves within the ICES Area are also moderately turbulent environments, may also have an impact on fish recruitment, and have received particular attention by colleagues within the ICES community. In future, an understanding of how turbulence affects fish and plankton production at upwelling and frontal zones and during storms could help justify including additional environmental and ecosystem information in recruitment and catch prediction models.

Article from Marine Science Symposia Vol. 215 - 100 years of science under ICES. To access the remaining articles please click on the keyword "MSS Vol. 215".