IMIS - Marine Onderzoeksgroepen

The white seabream (Diplodus sargus) and seabass (Dicentrarchus labrax), are highly commercial species, whose catches have been declining since the late 1980s. The ecology and migration patterns of these species off the Portuguese coast are still poorly studied. These species are described as performing spawning aggregations in the Parque Natural Sudoeste Alentejano e Costa Vicentina (PNSACV), the largest coastal MPA in Portugal, particularly D. sargus, with associated fishing hotspots already recognized (but no direct scientific evidences exist). Annual movement patterns of white seabream, D. sargus, and seabass, D. labrax, will be analysed inside and outside a small no-take area, within this multi-use MPA in the SW of Portugal. Connectivity between no-take areas within the PNSACV and between MPAs (PNSACV and Arrabida Marine park, where colleagues have receivers) will be also studied. Another species, Epinephelus marginatus (endangered species), currently in low densities within the PNSACV will be released (created in aquaculture) to study the potential to restore this species in a no-take within this MPA.