Abstract
Anchovy is a commercial species that supports large fisheries in the Mediterranean Sea. In addition, anchovy is an essential element of the pelagic food web, playing a considerable role in connecting the lower and upper trophic levels. Comparisons made regarding length frequency distribution, demographic structure, growth during the first year inferred from otoliths, and the condition factor of anchovy inhabiting the Spanish Mediterranean Sea (General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean management units, GSA06-Ebro Delta and 01-Alboran Sea), based on five-year data, clearly showed significant growth differences between areas and evidenced the existence of two independent anchovy stocks in the Spanish Mediterranean Sea. The anchovies inhabiting the Alboran Sea had higher growth than the anchovies inhabiting the Ebro Delta for the same age (one year old). The dramatic decline of the Alboran Sea anchovy could be related to the current management legislation in the Spanish Mediterranean Sea, based mainly on a common minimum catch size (9 cm), which should be revised given that sustainable anchovy exploitation is crucial for the pelagic food web equilibrium.
Highlights
Small pelagics such as anchovy support large fisheries in the Mediterranean Sea (Lleonart and Maynou 2003)
Comparisons made regarding length frequency distribution, demographic structure, growth during the first year inferred from otoliths, and the condition factor of anchovy inhabiting the Spanish Mediterranean Sea (General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean management units, GSA06. Both the Ebro Delta (GSA06)-Ebro Delta and 01-Alboran Sea), based on five-year data, clearly showed significant growth differences between areas and evidenced the existence of two independent anchovy stocks in the Spanish Mediterranean Sea
The dramatic decline of the Alboran Sea anchovy could be related to the current management legislation in the Spanish Mediterranean Sea, based mainly on a common minimum catch size (9 cm), which should be revised given that sustainable anchovy exploitation is crucial for the pelagic food web equilibrium
Summary
Small pelagics such as anchovy support large fisheries in the Mediterranean Sea (Lleonart and Maynou 2003). Like other small pelagic species, the anchovy has a short life span, with high rates of natural mortality and fecundity in which recruitment plays a major role in setting year-to-year changes in the level of the stock (Fréon et al 2005). Due to its high economic value, anchovy is the main target species of the purse seine fleet in the Spanish Mediterranean Sea, which covers two areas, GSA06 (northern Spain) and GSA01 (northern Alboran Sea), of the 30 stocks management areas established by the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM 2007). Whereas in GSA06 the anchovy catches are spread throughout the area (from the French border until the Cape of Palos), in GSA01 they are mainly located in the Bay of Málaga, the only area where anchovy is fished throughout the year (CFCM 2015)
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