Report of the FAO Working Group on the Assessment of Small ...

1 Report of the FAO Working Group ON THE Assessment OF Small PELAGIC FISH OFF NORTHWEST AFRICA Nouadhibou, Mauritania, 22 27 May 2017 Rapport du groupe de travail DE LA FAO SUR L VALUATION DES PETITS P LAGIQUES AU LARGE DE L AFRIQUE NORD-OCCIDENTALE Nouadhibou, Mauritanie, 22 27 mai 2017 FAO Fisheries and Aquacult ure Report Rapport sur les p ches et l aquaculture FI AF/R1221(Bi) I SSN 2 0 7 0-6987 F AO F is h e r ie s a n d Aq u a c u lt u r e Re p or t No. R1 2 2 1 FAO, Rapport su r les p ches et l aqu acu ltu re no R1 2 2 1 F IAF / R1221 (Bi) Rep or t of t h e F AO Working Group ON THE AS S E S S ME NT OF S MALL PE LAGIC F IS H OF F NORTHWE S T AF RICA Nou a d h ib ou , Ma u r it a n ia , 2 2---2 7 Ma y 2 0 1 7 Ra p p or t d u groupe DE travail DE LA FAO SUR L VALUATION DES PETITS P LAGIQUES AU LARGE DE L AFRIQUE NORD-OC CIDE NTALE Nou a d h ib ou , Ma u r it a n ie, 2 2-27 m a i 2 0 1 7 F OOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITE D NATIONS ORGANIS ATION DE S NATIONS UNIES POUR L ALIME NTATION ET L AGRICULTURE Rom e , 2 0 1 8 The designations employed and the presentation of material in this information product do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)

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4 All requests for translation and adaptation rights, and for resale and other commercial use rights should be made via or addressed to FAO information products are available on the FAO website ( ) and can be purchased through La FAO encourage l utilisation, la reproduction et la diffusion des informations figurant dans ce produit d information. Sauf indication contraire, le contenu peut tre copi , t l charg et imprim aux fins d tude priv e, de recherches ou d enseignement, ainsi que pour utilisation dans des produits ou services non commerciaux, sous r serve que la FAO soit correctement mentionn e comme source et comme titulaire du droit d auteur et condition qu il ne soit sous-entendu en aucune mani re que la FAO approuverait les opinions, produits ou services des utilisateurs. Toute demande relative aux droits de traduction ou d adaptation, la revente ou d autres droits d utilisation commerciale doit tre pr sent e au moyen du formulaire en ligne disponible licence-request ou adress e par courriel Les produits d information de la FAO sont disponibles sur le site web de la FAO ( ) et peuvent tre achet s par courriel adress iii PREPARATION OF THIS DOCUMENT A permanent FAO Working Group composed of scientists from the coastal States, and from countries or organizations that play an active role in Northwest African pelagic fisheries, was established in March 2001.

5 The overall objective of the Working Group is to assess the state of the Small pelagic resources in Northwest Africa and make recommendations on fisheries management and exploitation options aimed at ensuring optimal and sustainable use of Small pelagic fish resources for the benefit of coastal countries. The seventeenth meeting of the FAO Working Group on the Assessment of Small Pelagic Fish off Northwest Africa was held in Nouadhibou, Mauritania, 22 27 May 2017. The meeting was organized by FAO in collaboration with the Institute National des Recherches et de la P che (IMROP), Nouadhibou, Mauritania. Participants were funded through their respective institutions with support from the Canary Current Large Marine Ecosystem (CCLME) and FAO. IMROP supported local meeting costs.

6 Altogether 16 scientists from five countries and FAO participated. The chairperson of the Group was Aziza Lakhnigue, INRH, Morocco. A first editing of the Report was made by the participants of the Working Group . Final technical editing was done by Aziza Lakhnigue (chair of the Working Group ), Ana Maria Caramelo and Merete Tandstad. We are grateful to Val rie Schneider and Jessica Fuller for their assistance in the final editing of this document. PR PARATION DE CE DOCUMENT Un groupe de travail permanent de la FAO, compos de scientifiques des tats c tiers et des pays ou organisations qui jouent un r le actif dans les p cheries p lagiques de l'Afrique nord-occidentale, a t cr en mars 2001. L objectif g n ral du groupe de travail est d valuer les ressources en petits p lagiques de l Afrique nord-occidentale et de recommander des options de gestion et d exploitation des p ches visant assurer une utilisation optimale durable de ces ressources pour le b n fice des pays c tiers.

7 La dix-septi me r union du groupe de travail de la FAO sur l' valuation des petits p lagiques au large de l'Afrique du Nord-Ouest s est tenue Nouadhibou, en Mauritanie, du 22 au 27 mai 2017. La r union a t organis e par la FAO en collaboration avec l Institut National des Recherches et de la P che (IMROP), Nouadhibou, Mauritanie. Les participants ont t financ s par leurs institutions respectives avec un appui du projet Grand cosyst me du Courant des Canaries (CCLME) et la FAO. L IMROP a appuy le c ut national pour la r union. Seize chercheurs de cinq pays et de la FAO y ont particip . Le Pr sident du groupe de travail tait Mme Aziza Lakhnigue, INRH, Maroc. Une premi re dition du rapport a t r alis e par les participants du groupe de travail . L' dition technique finale a t faite par Aziza Lakhnigue (pr sident du groupe de travail ), Ana Maria Caramelo et Merete Tandstad.

8 Nous remercions Val rie Schneider et Jessica Fuller pour l'assistance apport e l' dition finale de ce document. iv FAO. 2018. Report of the FAO Working Group on the Assessment of Small Pelagic Fish off Northwest Africa. Nouadhibou, Mauritania, 22 27 May 2017. Rapport du groupe de travail de la FAO sur l valuation des petits p lagiques au large de l Afrique nord-occidentale. Nouadhibou, Mauritanie, 22-27 mai 2017. FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Report /FAO Rapport sur les p ches et l aquaculture No. 1221. Rome. ABSTRACT The seventeenth meeting of the FAO Working Group on the Assessment of Small Pelagic Fish off Northwest Africa was held in Nouadhibou, Mauritania, 22 27 May 2017. The Group assessed the status of the Small pelagic resources in Northwest Africa and made projections on the development of the status of the stocks and on future effort and catch levels.

9 The advice for the stocks is in general given in relation to the agreed target and limit reference points ( , , FMSY, and BMSY) and on the basis of the projections for the next four or five years. The structure of the Report is in general the same as that of the previous Working Group reports (FAO, 2002 2016), but includes added information on the Small pelagic fisheries in the Canary Islands. A separate section is devoted to each of the main groups of species (sardine, sardinella, horse mackerel, chub mackerel, bonga and anchovy). For each of these, standardized information is given on stock identity, fisheries, abundance indices, sampling intensity, biological data, Assessment , projections, management recommendations and future research. Additional information on the different analysis and choices made by the Working Group has been included, when this was deemed necessary.

10 Total catch of the main Small pelagic fish in the subregion increased from around million tonnes in 2015, to million tonnes in 2016, constituting a 13 percent increase as compared to 2015. Total catch of Small pelagic fish for the period 1990 2016 has been fluctuating with an average of around millions tonnes while the average for the last five years has been million tonnes. Increases in abundance of some of the main species were observed in the northern part of the sub area where acoustic surveys were carried out, although overall biomass estimates for these species are not available, Surveys covering the whole distribution range of the species were not carried out in 2016. A recruitment survey in the northern part of the area was carried out by the RV Atlantida only for horse mackerel and mackerel.