Distribution, drift and condition of herring larvae off western Norway in 1987

Introduction: After 1959 the Norwegian spring-spawning herring have been spawning along the western coast of Norway north of 62° N. During the sixties the stock was reduced to a minimum. In the recent years there has been a slight increase in the spawning stock and in 1983 a rich year class was produced. In 1985 the Institute of Marine Research started a project to study the recruitment mechanisms of the herring. Preliminary results from the project's larvae investigations in 1985 and 1986 have been reported (BJØRKE, FOSSUM and SÆTRE, 1986, FOSSUM, BJØRKE and SÆTRE, 1987). In addition to the early larvae studies in March-April, the project includes investigations of drift and distribution in May and in July. In August-September the distribution is covered by the international 0-group investigations in the Barents Sea. The present report gives some preliminary results from the investigation on the herring larvae in March-April 1987