11.5.9.3 Sprat 113. Sprat are distributed throughout the North Sea (Figure 11.31). They generally remain within the 50m depth contour and are common in inshore waters during summer for spawning, with migrations to winter feeding grounds (Maitland and Ryland, 2005; ICES, 2012g).
114. As shown by Table 11.5 and Table 11.6, landings of sprat are predominantly from the windfarm analysis area (34F2) and the inshore cable analysis area (33F1) (Table 11.6). It is also in these rectangles that the highest abundances of sprat have been recorded by the IBTS (Table 11.5).
115. Spawning is considered to occur between May and August, peaking between May and June (Coull et al. 1998; Voss et al. 2009) (Figure 11.32), in both coastal waters and up to 100km offshore in deep basins (Whitehead, 1986; FAO, 2011; Nissling et al. 2003). Females spawn repeatedly in batches throughout the spawning season (Milligan, 1986). Sprat are pelagic spawners with eggs and larvae are subject to larval drift, moving to inshore nursery areas (Hinrichsen et al. 2005; Nissling et al. 2003). Juvenile sprat are often found close inshore in schools with juvenile herring.
116. The East Anglia THREE site and the eastern section of the offshore cable corridor (in the offshore cable analysis area 33F2) fall within the broad spawning grounds defined for sprat, and similarly both parts of the East Anglia THREE project coincide with the species’ nursery areas (Figure 11.32).
117. Recent ichtyoplankton surveys (van Damme et al. 2011) found sprat stage one eggs in the windfarm analysis area and the wider North Sea from March to June. The ichthyplankton surveys did not find yolk sac sprat larvae in the proposed East Anglia THREE site (Diagram 10.9), however, sprat stage one eggs have been recorded in the study area between March and June (Diagram 10.10).
118. Sprat are not listed as a species of conservation importance. The currently available information is considered inadequate to evaluate the state of the North Sea stock. ICES have advised, on the basis of precautionary considerations, that catches of sprat should be reduced in 2012 (ICES Advice, 2014).
Preliminary Environmental Information May 2014
East Anglia THREE Offshore Windfarm
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