Species and length composition of fish in the southwestern Baltic Sea

Length distributions of fish were analysed based on data from the German annual (November/December) bottom trawl surveys in the Mecklenburg Bight and Arkona Basin [ICES Subdivisions (SD) 22 and 24, respectively] of the southwest Baltic Sea, covering the period from 1991 to 2000. The length spectra for all fish species, and those for demersal and pelagic species separately, all showed a consistent pattern of declining logarithmic numbers with increasing length over the fully selected size range. Such consistency allowed the shape of the spectra to be used as a community property that could be tracked in space and time. There was a rapid reduction in the number of specimens in the larger size classes, resulting in steep slopes of the spectra, which may be due to intensive fishing pressure in the Baltic. The species composition of fish communities in the southwest Baltic Sea was stable during the period considered. No consistent species replacement was found, although the clupeid group dropped sharply in the catch during the 1996 survey, which might have been due to sudden environmental changes in that year.