Parasitism between Anisakis simplex (Nematoda: Anisakidae) third-stage larvae and the spotted mackerel Scomber australasicus with regard to the application of stock identification.

The nematode fauna of 369 spotted mackerel of the species Scomber australasicus, collected off the northeastern Taiwanese coast of the northwestern Pacific, was investigated monthly from April 2004 to March 2005. The following nematode species were recorded: Anisakis simplex complex, Hysterothylacium aduncum, Porrocaecum decipiens and Raphidascaris trichiuri. The seasonal variation in the infection with A. simplex third stage larva (L3) was studied throughout the 12 months. The prevalence of A. simplex L3 recorded for total fish samples was 93.6%, varying between 86.7 and 100%. There was an increase in the abundance of this nematode in spring, with the peak occurring in April. To reveal whether intrinsic factors of the spotted mackerel host contributed to infection with this nematode, fish were grouped according to their body weight, age and gonad development (reported as gonadoosomatic index, GSI), respectively, and infection parameters (i.e., prevalence, abundance and intensity) were analyzed. Results showed that abundance was significantly higher in both larger (>450 g) and older (>3 years old) fish. The gonad development of the host fish was not correlated with the intensity of the larval infection in both female and male fish. Two distinct Anisakis species were identified by PCR-RFLP, namely A. pegreffii and a recombinant genotype of A. pegreffii and A. simplex sensu stricto. These species occurred with frequencies of 97% and 3%, respectively. The usefulness of using parasites as biomarkers for spotted mackerel stock identification around Taiwanese waters was confirmed herein. A second group of 58 spotted mackerel were obtained from the coastal waters off southwestern Taiwan. In addition to the two species, A. pegreffii and the recombinant one, which were found with frequencies of 63% and 9%, respectively, an additional Anisakis species A. typica was identified with a frequency of 28% from these fish. Two spotted mackerel stocks could thus be identified based on their infrastructure of Anisakis species community and their frequency. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of stock identification of spotted mackerel using endoparasite biomarkers.