Abstract
Analytical stock assessment of sardine ( Sardina pilchardus , Walb.) in the Adriatic Sea from 1975 to 1999 was performed taking into account the occurrence of discarding at sea of sardine caught by the Italian fleet. We have attempted to model the fishermen’s behaviour using data collected by an observer on board fishing vessels. This enabled us to estimate the amounts of discards, which were added to the catches landed, collected by ISMAR-CNR Ancona. Discards were calculated for the period 1987-1999, as their values were negligible before 1987. Stock assessment on the entire data series from 1975-1999 was carried out by means of Virtual Population Analysis (VPA). Discarding behaviour differs among ports due to different local customs and market conditions. The quantity added to the annual total catch ranged from 900 tonnes to 4000 tonnes, corresponding to between 2% and 15% of the total corrected catch. VPAs indicated that mid-year sardine stock biomass rose steadily from 400,000 tonnes in 1975 to a peak of 950,000 tonnes in 1984. Subsequently, biomass declined steadily to the more recent values, around 300,000 tonnes. Although discarded quantities were relatively high, their influence on stock assessment was not strong because of the high level of both catch and, in particular, estimated biomass at sea.
Highlights
Sardine (Sardina pilchardus, Walb.) is one of the most important commercial species of both the Mediterranean Sea and the Adriatic Sea
Ancona’s database, the mean annual quantity of sardine landed by these fleets was around 50,000 tonnes in the period 1975-1999
The present paper describes the application for the first time of an age-based analytical stock assessment of Adriatic sardine together with an attempt at estimating discards for this fishery
Summary
Sardine (Sardina pilchardus, Walb.) is one of the most important commercial species of both the Mediterranean Sea and the Adriatic Sea. In 1992 the sardine catch in the Adriatic comprised over 14% of the total Adriatic marine fishery catch and over 13%. Of the Mediterranean sardine catch (Stamatopoulos, 1995). The fishery for small pelagics is widespread in the northern and central Adriatic Sea and sardine is fished together with anchovy by the fleets from Italy, Slovenia, Croatia and previously by Yugoslavia. Ancona’s database, the mean annual quantity of sardine landed by these fleets was around 50,000 tonnes in the period 1975-1999. The Italian fleet in the northern and central Adriatic Sea comprises about 140 (70 couples) mid-water pelagic trawlers (volante) and about 40 purse seiners (lampara). Lampare operate south of Ancona and during the colder months their activity is suspended or replaced by volante gear as in the case of San Benedetto del Tronto (Cingolani et al, 1996a)
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