An examination of the feasibility of passive transport from coastal spawning grounds to estuarine nursery areas for English sole

English sole recruitment has been linked to environmental conditions occurring during their 6e10 week pelagic egg and larval stages, prior to their appearance in nursery estuaries during their first summer. The purpose of this study was to predict the spawning locations of juvenile English sole observed in estuaries to assess the feasibility of passive transport of egg and larval stages. Current meter data were used to backcalculate the transport trajectories of 19 cohorts of English sole observed as juveniles during estuarine trawl surveys. Only six of these cohorts were predicted to be spawned outside the OregoneWashington shelf system, assuming passive transport of eggs and larvae. Predicted egg and larval trajectories indicate that most of the English sole found in Oregon and Washington estuaries were spawned off the coast of Washington, with some spawning off northern California and central Oregon. Although these results are not consistent with the presumed spawning locations for the Oregon and Washington shelf, they indicate that passive transport assumptions may be adequate to preserve the larvae in the coastal system until settlement.