KRYGIER and PEARCY: NURSERY AREAS FOR YOUNG ENGLISH SOLE 



of only 6 larvae in 393 tows in Yaquina Bay (Pearcy 

 and Myers 1974), 22 larvae in 84 tows in the lower 

 Columbia River (Misitano 1977), and 4 larvae in 89 

 tows from Humboldt Bay (Eldridge 1970; Misitano 

 1970, 1976). However, young larvae are common in 

 offshore collections (Porter 1964; Pearcy and Myers 

 1974; Laroche and Richardson 1979), and transform- 

 ing larvae (19-22 mm) are frequent in collections 

 from Humboldt Bay and the Columbia River estuary 

 (Eldridge 1970; Misitano 1970, 1976). Thus young 

 P. vetulus that enter estuarine nurseries do so as 

 large transforming larvae or after completion of 

 metamorphosis. 



Our data confirm the above findings. We found 

 that settlement of metamorphosing English sole to 

 the bottom was common both in the Yaquina Bay 



estuary and at Moolack Beach along the open coast. 

 Transforming individuals along the coast were 

 caught in largest numbers/m 2 at depths of 16 m or 

 less, but they were also captured at the deepest sta- 

 tions sampled (Fig. 2). Since small larvae were rare 

 in Yaquina Bay (Pearcy and Myers 1974), these 

 trends suggest movement into the bay of transform- 

 ing larval stages. Boehlert and Mundy (in prep.) 9 have 

 subsequently confirmed that small juveniles as well 

 as transforming larvae of English sole recruit to Ya- 

 quina Bay. 



Although densities of transforming larvae were 

 sometimes higher at Moolack Beach than in Yaquina 

 Bay, densities of juvenile fish >30 mm were usually 

 over an order of magnitude higher in Yaquina Bay 

 than at Moolack Beach, indicating either immigra- 



Table 3.— Length distribution of English sole caught in the five estuaries, Moolack Beach and grid stations, 10 April-12 June 1978. 



Table 4.— Growth of juvenile English sole esti- 

 mated from modal progression of size-fre- 

 quency histograms from catches in Yaquina Bay 

 and Moolack Beach, 1970-79. 



tion into the bay from the open coast during or after 

 metamorphosis, or dispersal or higher mortality 

 rates of young along the open coast than in the estu- 

 ary. Increasing densities in Yaquina Bay, concurrent 

 with decreasing densities at Moolack Beach, suggest 

 immigration into the bay over an extended range of 

 sizes from 25 to 40 mm. 



The mechanisms for such movements are not fully 

 understood, but vertical movement of young fish off 

 the bottom during periods of flood tide has been 

 shown to effect transport into estuaries in several 



9 Boehlert, G. W., and B. C. Mundy. Recruitment dynamics of the 

 English sole, Parophrys vetulus, to a west coast estuary. Unpubl. 

 manuscr., 16 p. Southwest Fisheries Center Honolulu Laboratory, 

 National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA. P.O. Box 3830, Hono- 

 lulu, HI 96812. 



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