Genetic structure of whiting Merlangius merlangus in the northeast Atlantic and adjacent waters

Accurate identification of stock boundaries is essential for efficient fisheries management, hence present study focused on the genetic structure of whiting. To this aim, 488 individuals collected the southern Bay of Biscay to the southern Norwegian coast were genotyped using seven . A low level of genetic structuring was detected in Atlantic waters since only the of Biscay differentiated from more northern samples. The lack of genetic structure along the margin of the British Isles is consistent with a high level of passive transport of pelagic and larvae due to the combined influence of the North Atlantic Current and the Shelf Edge . High levels of dispersal could also occur between the western British Isles and the North through both the branching of the North Atlantic Current into the northern North Sea and from residual current flowing from the English Channel to the Southern Bight. In contrast, a genetic structure was identified within the North Sea, and this may be associated with complex oceanography of this basin and retention systems reducing larval dispersal. In addition, also genetic, phenotypic and tag-recapture data collected on whiting, a learned homing of adults toward spawning areas may be hypothesised.