Zooplankton and ichthyoplankton samples from Makkovik Bay, Labrador

Forage fish represent a key trophic link within marine ecosystems as they funnel energy between zooplankton and top predators, such as groundfish, salmonids, birds, seals and whales. On the Labrador coast, capelin (Mallotus villosus), sand lance (Ammodytes spp.) and Arctic cod (Boreogadus saida) are the main forage fish and variations in their abundance, especially capelin, have direct impacts on commercially and culturally valuable fish species. As Arctic and sub-arctic waters are warming as a result of climate change, capelin and sand lance are expected to become more abundant in northern Labrador and the Arctic and their competition with the Arctic cod, a species adapted to the polar environment, will increase. Although they could represent an important component of the Northwest Atlantic capelin population, stocks north of Lake Melville in Labrador are not monitored. This datasets provides new baseline information on the distribution and abundance of pelagic fish larvae and zooplankton in Makkovik Bay in summer.