Predicting the Movements of Juvenile Atlantic Herring (Clupea harengus harengus) in the SW Bay of Fundy Using Computer Simulation Techniques

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Abstract
A simulation model of Atlantic herring (Clupea harengus harengus) locomotion was used to predict the movements and distribution of 2-yr-old juveniles during the summer within the Quoddy region of the southwestern Bay of Fundy. The model assumed herring (i) swim at speeds of 1–2 body lengths per second, (ii) exhibit positive rheotaxis, and (iii) display cross-current movements whose frequency varies inversely with the speed of the current. Independent sets of simulated fish schools were introduced into a computer model of the study area at two sites (Letete approaches, Head Harbor approaches) and tide phases (slack low water, slack high water). Only those simulated schools entering through the Letete approaches at slack low water yielded the spatial pattern showing significant concordance with catch-by-weir records, acoustic survey data, and the distribution of foraging flocks of common terns (Sterna hirundo). The simulation indicated high mortality due to the weir fishery and the possibility of size-segregation in Quoddy herring.Key words: acoustics, Bay of Fundy, distribution, herring, locomotion, model, movements, Quoddy region, simulation, weir fishery

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