Spatio-temporal distribution of eggs and larvae of half-fin anchovy Setipinna taty (Valenciennes, 1848) in the inshore waters off Jiangsu, China

Abstract

Understanding the spatial distribution and environmental characteristics of fish spawning grounds is essential to design effective fishery management. The half-fin anchovy Setipinna taty (Valenciennes, 1848) plays an important role in the marine food web. A survey with 54 stations was conducted in 2014 to study the spatio-temporal distribution of eggs and larvae of half-fin anchovy around the inshore waters of Jiangsu, China. Half-fin anchovy eggs, larvae and juveniles were collected every month from April to July 2014. Generalised additive models were used to investigate the relationship between distribution of eggs, larvae and juveniles and environmental variables. A total of 4150 eggs and 685 half-fin anchovy larvae and juveniles were caught during the survey. During the spawning season, the highest egg densities were located in the inshore water area (121°-122°E, 32.5-33.5°N), with no significant shift in location of egg densities through time. The distribution of larvae and juveniles mostly overlapped with the egg distribution, suggesting that the early life stage of half-fin anchovy are distributed within the inshore waters of Jiangsu. The optimal water temperature, salinity and depth for eggs and larvae were in the range of 14.0-24.6°C, 28.7-29.8 ‰ and 15.9-17.4 m, respectively.