Prevalence of the microsporidian parasite Spraguea lophii in white anglerfish (Lophius piscatorius) in the Bay of Biscay and in other Atlantic areas

Abstract

The white anglerfish (Lophius piscatorius) is an important commercial species in the European fisheries, included those in the Bay of Biscay. This species is infected by the microsporidian parasite Spraguea lophii. Samplings of white anglerfish were performed from a nine year time-series (2006-2014) from Spanish commercial fleet and bottom research surveys operating in southern Bay of Biscay and Galician waters (ICES Div. VIIIc and IXa), Celtic Sea (Div. VIIh), south-western Ireland (Div. VIIj and VIIk), western Ireland and Porcupine Bank (Div. VIIb and VIIc). Length of fish and presence or absence of the parasite were recorded. The prevalence by S. lophii was used to analyse infestation level. This is the first study in which the prevalence of this parasite in relation to the size and sex of the host, as well as its area and catch year, are analyzed in Atlantic. No significant differences were found between sexes of the fish or among years. Differences in parasite infestation level by fish length among areas are discussed. The results were compared with those from the scarce previous studies.