The energetics of migration by selective tidal stream transport: an analysis for plaice tracked in the southern North Sea

Abstract

Adult plaice (Pleuronectes platessa L.) in the southern North Sea use selective tidal stream transport to migrate between their summer feeding grounds and winter spawning grounds. The fish come up into midwater when the tidal stream is flowing in one direction, but remain on the bottom when it is flowing in the opposite direction. This behaviour can theoretically save energy, which can be used for growth or reproduction. Alternatively, it may provide a transport system by means of which fish that have no ability to navigate over long distances can be conveyed reliably between their feeding grounds and spawning grounds.

Chronobiology: implications for marine resource exploitation and management

“…Moreover, an understanding of daily and tidal movements is also necessary in framing fish management strategies for North Sea plaice, Pleuronectes platessa. When migrating between spawning and feeding grounds this flatfish swims up into the water column when the tide flows in the migratory direction, but remains on the seabed when the tidal stream reverses (Metcalfe et al, 1990;Arnold and Metcalfe, 1996;Morgan, 2001). Such studies, together with others concerned with vertically migrating epibenthic species (Al-Adhub and Naylor, 1977), emphasize the implications of chronobiology in understanding and managing benthic trawl fisheries.…”

Vertical movements of North Sea cod

“…For example, Carey et al (1971) described the results of deployments of acoustic transmitters that revealed the vertical movements of large pelagic fish such as bluefin tuna Thunnus sp., broadbill swordfish Xiphias gladius and the great white shark Carcharodon carcharias. Metcalfe et al (1990) and Arnold et al (1994) used acoustic transmitters to describe the vertical movements of plaice Pleuronectes platessa and cod Gadus morhua. The prohibitive expense of acoustic tracking of fish on a large scale has led to the development of relatively inexpensive electronic data storage tags (DSTs).…”

Large-scale variation in seasonal swimming patterns of plaice in the North Sea

“…During autumn and winter for example, southward-migrating plaice in the southern North Sea leave the seabed during southflowing tides; they then swim directly down-tide until the time of slack water (Buckley & Arnold 2001), at which time they return to the seabed where they remain for the duration of the north-flowing tide. This behaviour is then repeated; a pattern of activity termed selective tidal stream transport (STST: Weihs 1978), which allows rapid and efficient movement between geographically distant feeding and spawning areas (Metcalfe et al 1990). Conversely, on the feeding and spawning grounds, plaice often swim only at night (Hunter et al 2004c); as the day-night cycle is out of phase with the tidal cycle, it has been proposed that this activity pattern leads to a random distribution of the fish around the spawning and feeding areas (Harden Jones et al 1979, Arnold 1981.…”