Daily Egg Production Estimates for the Atlantic Iberian Sardine in 2020, (ICES areas 9a and 8c).

The spawning stock biomass (SSB) of the Atlantic Iberian sardine (stock pil.27.8c9a, ICES divisions 8c and 9a) has been estimated using the Daily Egg Production Method (DEPM) since the late 90s. The surveys and analyses are internationally coordinated in the framework of ICES-WGACEGG where IEO (Instituto Español de Oceanografía, Spain) and IPMA (Instituto Português do Mar e da Atmosfera, Portugal) are represented. Every three years the two institutes conduct a coordinated survey covering the Iberian shores. The Portuguese campaign surveys the waters from the entrance of the Strait of Gibraltar to the border of Portugal and Galicia (ICES area 9a), while the Spanish survey monitors the northern area of the stock from the border, at river Minho, to the south of the Armorican shelf in French waters (ICES areas 9a North and 8c). The DEPM surveys comprise ichthyoplankton, fish and hydrographic sampling. Plankton samples are collected, along a grid of parallel transects perpendicular to the coast, for spawning area estimation and daily egg production calculation. Concurrently, fishing hauls are carried out for estimation of daily fecundity (sex ratio, female weight, batch fecundity and spawning fraction) for the mature sardines in the population. This working document provides a description of the Portuguese survey, including the laboratory analyses and estimation procedures used to obtain the egg and adults parameters for the 2020 DEPM

ICES. 2020. Working Group on Acoustic and Egg Surveys for Sardine and Anchovy in ICES areas 7, 8 and 9

he Working Group on Acoustic and Egg Surveys (WGACEGG) coordinates pelagic surveys for a number of stocks and provides monitoring for the two major sardine and anchovy stocks in ICES areas 6, 7, 8, and 9. The group evaluated small pelagic fish biomass indices derived from acoustic and Daily Egg Production Method (DEPM) surveys in ICES areas 6, 7, 8 and 9. These indices have been provided to the ICES Working Group on Southern Horse Mackerel, Anchovy and Sardine (WGHANSA), the Working Group on Widely Distributed Stocks (WGWIDE) and the Herring Assessment Working Group for the Area South of 62ºN (HAWG) stock assessment group, to serve as fishery-independent input for analytical assessment purposes. DEPM and acoustic indices were derived based on data collected using independent methods. Acoustic- and DEPM-derived biomass indices from quasi-synoptic surveys conducted in the Bay of Biscay in spring were compared, to assess the presence of potential bias and to improve the precision of fish stock biomass estimates. The DEPM-based anchovy biomass index was 22% higher than the acoustic index in 2019. Unusual concentrations of anchovy in Eastern Cantabrian Sea, an area not covered by the acoustic survey, and the presence near the sea surface of actively spawning individuals possibly under-sampled by acoustics in central Bay of Bay had been postulated as potential causes of this discrepancy. No significant difference was found between sardine biomass indices derived from DEPM and acoustics in 2019. The group has updated its database of standard gridded maps covering the European Atlantic area. This initiative continues to inform on the spatial dynamics of various parameters collected during the surveys coordinated under the auspices of the group (fish acoustic densities, anchovy and sardine egg abundance, surface temperature and salinity). Results of an analysis of the time series of gridded maps (anchovy and sardine acoustic density, surface salinity and temperature) showed quantitative changes in the spatial and temporal distribution of anchovy and sardine over the last 15 years, and further define their habitats in European Atlantic waters in spring. The timing and spatial coverage of DEPM and acoustic surveys that will be conducted by group members in 2020 were planned to optimise the monitoring of anchovy and sardine populations and their pelagic environment in the European Atlantic area. The synoptic nature of the survey components has been assessed for each target species. A manual describing the protocols used during the DEPM surveys coordinated by the WGACEGG group was reviewed, and writing of a manual of WGACEGG acoustic surveys continued. Both manuals will be available in 2020. The final results of the 2017 sardine DEPM assessment were endorsed by the group

First Interim Report of the Working Group on Atlantic Fish Larvae and Egg Surveys (WGALES)

WGALES group and meeting was a much-needed in-strument to be able to exchange methods and techniques and discuss various topics between ichthyoplankton survey experts. This meeting only dealt with the egg and larval part of ichthyoplankton surveys. WGALES recognizes that the adult part of the ichthyoplankton surveys is just as important as the egg and larval part