Research Document 1997/124

The nekton of the coastal and shelf waters of Newfoundland

By J.T. Anderson and E.L. Dalley

Abstract

A large scale, two ship survey was carried out in the late summer of 1994 and 1995, sampling the pelagic environment of the southern Labrador Shelf, the Northeast Newfoundland Shelf, the Northern and Southern Grand Banks and the inshore bays along the northeast coast of Newfoundland. Copepods dominated the macro-plankton, with Calanus finmarchicus being the dominant species throughout most of the area, whereas Centropages hamatus dominated on the Southern Grand Bank. The seasonal production cycle of C. finmarchicus was more advanced in the inshore area than on the adjacent shelf. On the Southern Grand Bank, C. hamatus was dominated by adults, indicating that a late summer spawning was underway. There was little evidence of late summer spawning by fish, where fish eggs were in low abundances. The only spawning that occurred was primarily witch flounder (Glyptocephalus cynoglosus) and yellowtail flounder/cunner (Limanda ferruginea and Tautoglabrus adspersus). The dominant fish larvae were capelin (Mallotus villosus), which accounted for 52% and 87% of the ichthyoplankton each year, respectively. The nekton was dominated by juvenile Arctic cod (Boreogadus saida), juvenile squids and one year old capelin, which together accounted for 93% and 84% of the nektonic species captured in 1994 and 1995, respectively. The inshore bays along the northeast coast of Newfoundland appeared to be the most important spawning areas for fish during these two years. There was notably little evidence of spawning on the southern Grand Bank, particularly for capelin. However, the shelf waters may be important feeding areas for planktivorous juvenile fish, evidenced by high copepod biomass and the dispersal of capelin from inshore spawning areas to offshore waters. We categorize the pelagic environment within the survey area into four distinct zoogeographic domains: 1) the shelf waters of the Northeast Newfoundland Shelf and the Southern Labrador Shelf; 2) the Northern Grand Bank; 3) the Southern Grand Bank; and, 4) the inshore bays along the northeast coast of Newfoundland.

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