Deepening our perspective about the small and medium pelagic fish: case study in the Canary Islands (NW Africa, Spain) | Deepening our perspective of the small pelagic fish in the Canary Islands (NW Africa, Spain)

Small and medium pelagic fish (SMPF, i.e. Scomber colias, Trachurus spp, Sardina pilchardus, and Sardinella spp) in the Canary Islands are mainly targeted by the artisanal purse-seine fleet. The waters in the archipelago (located in the coastal transition zone of the Canary Current Eastern Boundary Upwelling System) are monitored since the late nineties by a hydrographic section (RAPROCAN) designed to study the temporal variability of the eastern subtropical gyre. In this study we analyse the relationship between the SMPF abundance assumed from official sale notes (reported since 2007) and several oceanographic parameters obtained for the outermost water layer (Sea Surface Temperature, SST, and concentration of chlorophyll a, Chla) and from the 200–800 m depth waters (Sea Temperature, ST_200–800, and salinity, Salinity_200–800). Except for SST, statistically significant correlations occur between environmental variables and SMPF landings when one-year time-lag is considered, matching with the time period necessary for these species to attain legal catchable sizes and, hence, being catchable by the fishery. However, in the GLM only Chla resulted a significant explaining variable for the SMPF landings during the following year, probably because this strong correlation overshadows the ST_200–800 influence. Keeping the monitoring systems is crucial to understand, foresee and anticipate potential variations in the fishery resources and to aim the sustainable exploitation of the SMPF populations, even more challenging in the current climate change scenario.

Part of this study has been partially funded by the EU through the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) within the National Program of collection, management and use of data in the fisheries sector and support for scientific advice regarding the Common Fisheries Policy. In addition, it has been carried out as part of the RAPROCAN Project, the Canary Islands component of the core observational program of the Instituto Español de Oceanografía (IEO, CSIC). Finally, part of the study has been performed in the framework of the LIFE IP INTEMARES project, coordinated by the Biodiversity Foundation of the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge. It receives financial support from the European Union's LIFE program (LIFE15 IPE ES 012).

Peer reviewed