Preliminary Analysis for Identification of Priority Species of Small Pelagic Shared Stocks in GSA01 And GSA03 (Alborán Sea)

Small pelagic resources and particularly sardine (Sardina pilchardus) and anchovy (Engraulis encrasicholus) represent an important fishery activity for the countries bordering the Alboran Sea. This paper aims at contributing to the identification of priority species of small pelagic shared stocks in GSA01 and GSA03 (northern and southern Alboran Sea GFCM regions) for carrying out joint stock assessments and promoting new management measures that would allow the sustainability of the resources and its exploitation. The WG on small pelagic shared stocks met twice during 2011 progressing in analysing the available data on the stocks and its exploitation and building a common data base. Moreover a comparative analysis on sardine landings data from 2003-2010 in GSA01 and GSA03 was carried out explaining that the exploitation pattern in sub-areas (GSAs 01 and 03) is different but the total length-frequency distribution of sardine exploited by each country appears to be similar. A tentative in applying a LCA analysis of the Moroccan and Spanish data on sardine using different biological parameters and with the VIT software was unsuccessful but orientated for future works of the WG