The early life histories of the commercially important blue and spotted warehous (Seriolella brama and S. punctata) were examined on the basis of archived ichthyoplankton samples collected over broad areas of southern Australia. Larvae of both species were widely distributed during winter and spring within shelf and slope waters. Larvae of S. brama were recorded from Kangaroo island, South Australia (SA), to southern New South Wales (NSW). Seriolella punctata larvae were recorded from western Tasmania to southern NSW. Back-calculated spawning dates, based on otolith microstructure, indicated that spawning predominantly occurs during late July and August but that the timing of spawning varies between regions. The abundances of small larvae (<5.0 mm body length) were highest for both species off western Tasmania and southern NSW. No small S. brama larvae were recorded between southern Tasmania and southern NSW, whereas low but consistent numbers of small S. punctata larvae were found between these regions. The data suggest that there are separate spawning areas for S. brama in western and eastern regions of Australia's South East Fishery. The pattern for S. punctata is less clear, but suggests a more continuous link among populations in south-eastern Australia.

Item Type:	Refereed Article
Research Division:	Agricultural, Veterinary and Food Sciences
Research Group:	Fisheries sciences
Research Field:	Fish physiology and genetics
Objective Division:	Animal Production and Animal Primary Products
Objective Group:	Fisheries - wild caught
Objective Field:	Fisheries - wild caught not elsewhere classified
UTAS Author:	Neira, FJ (Dr Francisco Neira)
ID Code:	36044
Year Published:	2001
Web of Science® Times Cited:	7
Deposited By:	TAFI - Marine Research Laboratory
Deposited On:	2005-09-30
Last Modified:	2011-11-18
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