The European pilchard Sardina pilchardus (Walbaum, 1792) stock off the western Algerian coast is fully exploited
Handjar, H.; Niar, A.; Van der Meer, J. (2019). The European pilchard Sardina pilchardus (Walbaum, 1792) stock off the western Algerian coast is fully exploited. J. Sea Res. 150-151: 1-7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.seares.2019.04.002
In: Journal of Sea Research. Elsevier/Netherlands Institute for Sea Research: Amsterdam; Den Burg. ISSN 1385-1101; e-ISSN 1873-1414, meer
The European pilchard Sardina pilchardus is one of the main target species of the commercial fishery along the Algerian coasts. To better understand the observed decline in catches we studied the state of exploitation and simulated the effect of changing fishing effort on the population of sardines. The Beverton-Holt yield-per-recruit model and the Thompson-Bell model showed that the stock is presently fully exploited. In order to estimate the required model parameters, a sample of 1234 specimens was obtained from commercial catches on the western Algerian coast. Analysis of otoliths and gonads allowed the estimation of age-length model parameters, length-weight relationship, length at first maturity, and length at 50% selectivity. In light of the high vulnerability of small pelagic species to environmental fluctuations one might consider to reduce the current level of exploitation to allow for the annual renewal of the exploitable stock of sardine in the western region of the Algerian coast, and hence for a sustainable yield on the long-term.
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