Parasites as biological tags for stock identification of blackspot seabream, Pagellus bogaraveo, in Portuguese northeast Atlantic waters

Abstract

In this study the following parasites were selected as biological tags for the identification of blackspot sea-bream (Pagellus bogaraveo) stocks in the northeast Atlantic: Diphterostomum vividum (Digenea: Zoogonidae), Anisakis simplex s.l., A. physeteris, Anisakis sp. PB-2010 (Nematoda: Anisakidae), and Bolbosoma sp. (Acanthocephala: Polymorphidae). These parasite species point to the existence of three blackspot seabream stocks in the northeast Atlantic: one in the Azores region (ICES Area X), one in continental Portuguese shelf/slope waters (ICES Area IXa), and one in the waters around Madeira (sub-area 1.2 of FAO 34, central-eastern Atlantic).