Pacific sardine (Sardinops melanostictus) migrations to the shores of Sakhalin Island in the 20th–early 21st centuries

Abstract

Historical data for the period 1929−2011 were used to generalize information on the seasonal feeding migrations of Pacific sardine to the shores of Sakhalin Island. In the 20th century, the cyclicity of sardine occurrence in the Tatar Strait and southwestern part of the Sea of Okhotsk appeared to have a similar character. Sardine distribution patterns are considered in connection with the oceanological characteristics on these areas. A close correlated relationship was revealed between the SST anomalies and northern boundary of distribution of this subtropical fish. Besides the water temperature, Pacific sardine northern migrations have been formed under the influence of many other factors (by origin and impact), including fluctuations in abundance, index of stock biomass, food supply, state of marine ecosystems, and climatic conditions.