Distribution pattern, reproductive biology, and fishery of the wedge sole Dicologlossa cuneata in the Gulf of Cadiz, south-west Spain

Spawning and nursery habitat of the wedge sole <em>Dicologlossa cuneata</em> (Moreau, 1881) in the Gulf of C&aacute;diz (SW Spain)

“…The main spawning peaks and the greatest larval abundances occurred between March and May, showing a late winter-early spring main spawning period. The long spawning period, as well as the egg and larval peaks of abundance, were fairly consistent with the protracted reproductive period and peaks proposed by Jiménez et al (1998) in the Gulf of Cádiz, Vila et al (2002) in Spanish and Portuguese zones of the Atlantic Iberian coast and García-Isarch et al (2003) in the River Guadalquivir mouth. These studies located the onset of reproduction in autumn, and it lasted until the end of the spring.…”

“…At these temperatures, the spawning occurs in the bottom waters and once the eggs have been fecundated, they reach the surface waters, where they continue their development (Lagardère, 1982). Temperature causes latitudinal differences in the location and extension of the wedge sole reproduction period (Jiménez et al, 1998). This season begins earlier in southern regions, becoming later as latitude increases, indicating a latitudinal gradient in reproduction time along its distribution range.…”

First record of wedge sole, Dicologlossa cuneata (Actinopterygii: Pleuronectiformes: Soleidae), from the Levant Basin (eastern Mediterranean)

“…However, this single record does not constitute a suffi cient support to suggest that a sustainable population is a present established off Syria, such as in other Mediterranean areas, southern Spain (Jiménez et al 1998, García-Isarch et al 2006, and the Algerian coast (Boufersaoui and Bedda 2011), being the best examples of stable populations. Although D. cuneata was not reported by Golani et al (2002) as a 'Herculean alien species' (sensu Quignard and Tomasini 2000), a migration from the eastern Atlantic through the Strait of Gibraltar remains the most suitable hypothesis which cannot be totally ruled out.…”

“…Wedge sole, Dicologlossa cuneata (Moreau, 1881), has been reported in the eastern Atlantic from the Bay of Biscay (Lagardère 1980), the coast of Portugal (López et al 2012) to south-western Spain (Jiménez et al 1998, García-Isarch et al 2006. South the Strait of Gibraltar, D. cuneata is known from Morocco (Belghyti et al 1994, Lloris andRucabado 1998), Mauritania (Maurin and Quéro 1981), Senegal (Cadenat 1951) to the Gulf of Guinea (Blache et al 1970), and southward off the South Africa coast (Smith and Heemstra 1986).…”

“…Dicologlossa cuneata occurs in the Mediterranean Sea (Quéro et al 1986) and the species was previously a main target species off the Spanish coast (Jiménez et al 1998, García-Isarch et al 2006, and due to a high fi shing pressure, it is considered at present a threatened species in the area (Munroe and Nielsen 2010). Quéro et al (1986) did not report the occurrence of D. cuneata from the Mediterranean coast of France and the Italian marine waters.…”