This article appears in the following ICES Journal of Marine Science issue: European Symposium on Marine Protected Areas as a Tool for Fisheries Management and Ecosystem Conservation [View the issue table of contents]
Identifying eastern Baltic cod nursery grounds using hydrodynamic modelling: knowledge for the design of Marine Protected Areas
1 Leibniz-Institute of Marine Sciences, Düsternbrooker Weg 20, 24105 Kiel, Germany
2 Institute for Sea Fisheries, Palmaille 9, D 22767 Hamburg, Germany
3 Technical University of Denmark, National Institute of Aquatic Resources, Charlottenlund Slot, DK 2920 Charlottenlund, Denmark
4 Institute for Baltic Sea Fisheries, Alter Hafen Süd 2, 18069 Rostock, Germany
Correspondence to H-H. Hinrichsen: tel: +49 431 600 4566; fax: +49 431 600 4553; e-mail: hhinrichsen{at}ifm-geomar.de.
Hinrichsen, H-H., Kraus, G., Böttcher, U., and Köster, F. 2009. Identifying eastern Baltic cod nursery grounds using hydrodynamic modelling: knowledge for the design of Marine Protected Areas. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 66: 101–108.Knowledge of the spatial and temporal distribution of juvenile cod is essential to closing the life cycle in population dynamic models, and it is a prerequisite for the design of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) aiming at the protection of juveniles. In this study, we use a hydrodynamic model to examine the spatial distribution of eastern Baltic cod larvae and early juveniles. The transport patterns of the larvae spawned at the three major spawning grounds in the central Baltic Sea were investigated by drift model simulations for the period 1979–2004. We analysed potential habitats for their suitability for juvenile settlement, i.e. the change from pelagic to demersal life. The results revealed a clear dependence of the probability for successful settling on wind-induced drift of larval cod, which is controlled by the local atmospheric conditions over the Baltic Sea. Furthermore, we found evidence that the final destinations of juvenile cod drift routes are affected by decadal climate variability. Application of the methodology to MPA design is discussed, e.g. identifying the overlap of areas with a high probability of successful juvenile cod settlement and regions of high fishing effort in small-meshed fisheries targeting sprat and herring.
Keywords: eastern Baltic cod, gadoid settlement, larval transport, nursery areas
Received 10 December 2007; accepted 8 August 2008.
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  G. Kraus, D. Pelletier, J. Dubreuil, C. Mollmann, H.-H. Hinrichsen, F. Bastardie, Y. Vermard, and S. Mahevas A model-based evaluation of Marine Protected Areas: the example of eastern Baltic cod (Gadus morhua callarias L.) ICES J. Mar. Sci., January 1, 2009; 66(1): 109 - 121. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
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