EXAMINING REGIONAL DIFFERENCES IN FISH MOVEMENTS, BEHAVIOUR AND POPULATION STRUCTURE

PART OF THE NERC OCEANS 2025 STRATEGIC RESEARCH PROGRAMME (THEME 6)

The aim in this project is to identify the role of fish movements, behaviour and population structure in relation to environment using a combination of electronic tagging and molecular genetic approaches to test the ‘stock’ concept in fisheries at the regional scale.

SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES
1.  Determine movement patterns of marine fish in relation to environment (natural habitats and human-made submerged structures), and adaptive responses across increasing space-time scales.
2.  Identify whether changes in behavioural complexity are linked to specific environmental conditions associated with the biogeographic boundary in the western English Channel.
3.  Characterise the genetic component of fish stock differentiation in the western English Channel and Celtic Sea compared with adjacent stocks.

4.  Examine regional differences in fish movement and behaviour patterns with respect to population-level genetic differentiation, to identify stock structure and biological limits of dispersal, thereby defining management units.

We conduct the population genetics work in collaboration with Dr Martin Genner (MBA & University of Bristol) and Dr Andrew Griffiths (MBA). Samples are collected from MBA ships during long-term monitoring of populations and by collaborators at Cefas Lowestoft, FRS Marine Laboratory Aberdeen, Marine Institute Galway, and at the University of Lisbon, Portugal.

Species studied include thornback ray Raja clavata, the critically endangered common skate Dipturus batis, and the Atlantic cod Gadus morhua. These species and others are the foci of research because they are of commercial importance and/or conservation priority.

People involved: Nick Humphries, Matt McHugh, Andrew Griffiths, Professor David Sims (MBA),  Dr Martin Genner (MBA & University of Bristol), Vicky Quayle, Dr David Righton, Dr Jim Ellis (Cefas Lowestoft), Dr Francis Neat (FRS Marine Laboratory Aberdeen), Toby Rapp (Marine Institute Galway).

Funding: NERC Oceans 2025.