The Settlement and Nursery Ground of Brown Sole off the Coast of Niigata Prefecture

Abstract

About 85,000 reared juveniles (34.2 mm SL on average) of brown sole, Pleuronectes herzensteini were released on the bottom at a depth of 38 m 10 km off Iwafune in Niigata Prefecture on 23 April 1991. In subsequent tracking collections with a beam trawl (24 April to 18 June 1991), a total of 74 wild juveniles (10.1-37.3 mm SL) as well as 114 released ones (15.7-35.2 mm SL) appeared. The latter were destributed around the release ground at a depth of 38 m and the former from 25 to 45 m. Almost all captured juveniles had fed and the stomach contents of the two types were essentially the same. This suggests that the grounds at depths of 25–45 m are the settlement area and nursery for wild juveniles of brown sole, and will be suitable for the release of reared juveniles. © 1994, The Japanese Society of Fisheries Science. All rights reserved.