The main characteristics of the bathymetric and zonal distribution of the populations of pandalid shrimps along the western Mediterranean continental shelf and upper slope were studied. Samples were collected by trawling along the Iberian Mediterranean from Gibraltar to Cape Creus in spring 1994, 1995 and 1996. A total of 291 hauls was performed between the depths of 30 and 800 m approximately. A total of nine species of pandalid shrimps was identified in the samples: Chlorotocus crassicornis, Pandalina profunda, Plesionika acanthonotus, P. antigai, P. edwardsii, P. gigliolii, P. heterocarpus, P. martia and Parapandalus narval. A tendency of increasing size with depth was especially marked for P. heterocarpus, P. edwardsii and P. martia. The study areas within the Alborán Sea were characterized by the highest values of abundance of pandalid shrimps, and also by the tendency of species to be present in shallower waters compared with the other study areas.

Peer reviewed