Winter ichthyoplankton in the northern Benguela upwelling and Angola-Benguela Front regions

This study describes horizontal and vertical distribution patterns of fish larvae in the Angola-Benguela Front and the Benguela upwelling areas in win ter 1999. Stratified plankton samples were collected at 38 stations with a multiple opening-closing net. A total of 418 fish larvae was caught, 372 of which were found in the Angola-Benguela Front area. They were classified i nto 23 taxa with Trachurus trachurus, Merluccius sp. and Chloroscombrus chr ysurus being the most abundant species. Mesopelagic fish were represented b y a number of abundant species, among others Cyclothone sp., Diaphus sp. an d Hygophum sp. Fish larvae in the Angola-Benguela Front area were concentra ted near the coast in the southern part of the frontal zone, with the distr ibution pattern following the hydrodynamic regime of this area, where a str ong frontal zone divided the transect into three parts: a northern part inf luenced by the warm Angola Current waters, a southern part dominated by the colder Benguela Current waters, and a central part with mixing water masse s from both Angola and Benguela currents. Offshore abundances were very low , indicating that most species made use of the local current fields to main tain themselves inshore on the continental shelf. Only some of the pelagic species were found at the outer stations, indicating offshore transport by the Benguela and Angola currents.