Does population genetic structure support present management regulations of the northern shrimp (Pandalus borealis) in Skagerrak and the North Sea?

Population structuring in the northern shrimp (Pandalus borealis) in the North Sea area (including Fladen and Skagerrak) was studied by microsatellite DNA analyses. Screening 20 sample locations in the open ocean and Skagerrak fjords for nine loci revealed low but significant genetic heterogeneity. The spatial genetic structure among oceanic samples of Skagerrak and the eastern North Sea was weak and non-significant, consistent with the current management regime of one single stock.

However, Skagerrak fjord samples generally displayed elevated levels of genetic differentiation, and significantly so in several pairwise comparisons with other fjords and oceanic samples. Although the Skagerrak fjord populations are of less economic value, some of them are regulated separately (e.g. the Gullmarsfjord) and local stocks may prove important to uphold genetic variability and biocomplexity in a changing environment.