DISTRIBUTION AND ABUNDANCE OF EARLY LIFE STAGES OF SQUID (ILLEX-ARGENTINUS) IN THE SOUTH-WEST ATLANTIC

A joint research cruise (Japan Argentina Uruguay) was carried out in the South-western Atlantic during August-September 1989 in order to study the winter-spawning and hatchery areas of Illex argentinus, and also the migration pattern of the juveniles towards the continental shelf. A few Rhynchoteuthion larvae were found in subtropical waters of the Brazil Current, next to the Brazil-Malvinas confluence, and in the frontal zone with shelf water, but never at temperatures below 14°C. Large numbers of juveniles found in subantarctic waters (6-10°C) on the shelf were probably migrating southward from their hatchery grounds following the zooplankton concentrations on which they were feeding. © 1992 International Council for the Exploration of the Sea.