Researchers at ICM have described one of the larval stages of the red shrimp, which will help size the management measures of one of the most important species of commercial interest in the Mediterranean.
The red prawn (Aristeus antennatus) is one of the most important species of commercial interest in the Mediterranean, accounting for more than 50% of the profits of fishermen's guilds in some ports of Catalonia, with a price that can reach 100 euros per kilo.
Despite their relevance and the extensive knowledge of adult prawns, the life cycle of the species remains unknown, as their eggs have never been observed and very little is known about their larval stages. This information is key to know the dispersal of red prawns, but also to delimit their populations and establish well-sized fisheries management measures.
Now, a group of researchers in the area of Renewable Marine Resources of the Institut de Ciències del Mar (ICM-CSIC) of Barcelona has managed to fully describe one of the larval states of the red shrimp, which will help not only to better estimate the stock of species, but also to improve the understanding of different aspects of its ecology.
Until now, experts were working with a 1955 description that, according to a study published this week in the journal Scientific Reports, was incorrect and corresponded to another species.
For the study, the researchers used a plankton sampling tool that fishes all organisms between 300 microns and 2 centimetres in size that live on the uppermost surface of the water column, which includes the first meter and a half. Then, in the laboratory, they identified with a binocular loupe the different species in the samples. In some cases, the DNA of the larvae was compared with that of adult individuals to confirm the identification.
The study of larvae, key to know the connection between populations
"The study of the larvae of this species is key to know how the red shrimp populations are connected along the coast and whether the management measures that are being applied in a certain place have an effect right there or if, due to the transport of the larvae by the sea currents, they have an effect in other ports", explains Marta Carreton, the researcher who has led the study.
In this sense, Carreton updates that her group, led by Joan B. Company, whose research is focused on the study of the ecological dynamics of different ecosystems subjected to fishing pressure, is already developing the first distribution maps of red shrimp larvae.
These maps will serve as a basis for simulations and predictions of the connectivity of the species, which will help to know whether the current local management measures, which have been underway in the port of Palamós since 2013.
This study, carried out in close collaboration with the Instituto Português do Mar e da Atmósfera (IPMA) in Lisbon (Portugal), is part of the CONECTA project, which is funded by the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación and aims to study the connectivity of the red prawn in the Spanish Mediterranean.
