The Distribution and Mortality of Sole Eggs [Solea solea (L.)] in Inshore Areas

Abstract

Studies of the ecology of flatfish during their first year revealed that very little was known of the association of spawning grounds with ‘nursery areas’ inshore, and that virtually no recent data were available on the relative sizes of these inshore spawning grounds and nursery areas. A survey programme was started in a selected area for sole in 1969, and in 1970 the first part of a complete survey of the inshore area of the coast of England and Wales was undertaken when the east coast of England was examined for the first time. The main purpose of these.inshore and estuarine surveys has been to gather quantitative data on the abundance of planktonic eggs, larvae and o-and l-group fish.