Latitudinal comparison of spawning season and growth of 0-group sole, Solea solea (L.)

0-Group sole, Solea solea (Linnaeus, 1758) were sampled in four nursery grounds: two on the Northern French coast and two on the Portuguese coast. Juvenile sole were collected at the Vilaine estuary (Northern Bay of Biscay) in 1992, in the Authie estuary (Eastern English Channel) in 1997, and in the Douro and Tagus estuary (Northern and central Portugal, respectively) in 2005. Left lapilli otoliths were used to estimate age and investigate variability in growth rates and hatch dates. In the French study areas nursery colonisation ended in early June in the Vilaine estuary and in late June in the Authie estuary. In the Portuguese estuaries nursery colonisation ended in May in the Douro estuary and in late June in the Tagus estuary. Growth rates were higher in the Portuguese estuaries, 0.767 mm d−1 in the Tagus estuary and 0.903 mm d−1 in the Douro estuary. In the French nurseries, growth rates were estimated to be 0.473 mm d−1 in the Villaine estuary and 0.460 mm d−1 in the Authie estuary. Data on growth rates from other studies shows that growth rates are higher at lower latitudes, probably due to higher water temperature. Spawning took place between early January and early April in the Villaine estuary's coastal area in 1992. In 1997, in the Authie estuary spawning started in late January and ended in early April. On the Douro estuary's adjacent coast spawning started in mid-January and ended in late March, in 2005, while on the Tagus estuary's adjacent coast spawning started in mid-February and ended in mid-April, in the same year. Literature analysis of the spawning period of sole along a latitudinal gradient ranging from 38°N to 55°N in the Northeast Atlantic indicated that there is a latitudinal trend, in that spawning starts sooner at lower latitudes. Results support that local conditions, particularly hydrodynamics, may overrule general latitudinal trends.