Firth of Clyde a ’key source’ of juvenile whiting, supplying the wider Scottish west coast and Irish Sea fisheries

Scientists have discovered that the Firth of Clyde is an important source of juvenile whiting to the wider Scottish west coast waters, in new research likely to be important for fisheries management. In a new joint study, between the University of Glasgow and Marine Scotland Science published today in Communications Biology, researchers found that as juvenile whiting grow to become adults some cross the fish stock boundary between the Irish Sea and waters to the west of Scotland. The Firth of Clyde and eastern Irish Sea was shown to be the main source of juvenile whiting for both the Irish Sea and the wider west of Scotland waters. Whiting from the Firth of Clyde were previously thought to self-recruit, but in this more recent analysis using otolith microchemistry - the study of the concentration of certain elements in the otolith (a structure in the inner ear of fish and other vertebrates) - they have discovered that this area is now a significant source of whiting across the west of Scotland and Irish Sea. Whiting is a small member of the cod family, and commonly caught for consumption in the UK. The research may be important for fisheries management, as the Irish Sea and the Firth of Clyde are currently assessed as different fish stocks. Researchers also highlight that with so many juvenile whiting originating in the Firth of Clyde nursery before moving to other areas as adults, the juveniles and adults are also likely to face pressures from different fishing fleets.