Justification
This is a widespread, highly commercial species in the Mediterranean and Black Seas. It is a target species for purse seine fisheries. The population shows large fluctuations depending on environmental conditions. In some areas, these fluctuations are showing a declining trend (e.g., in Morocco, where there has been a declining trend since 1998); other areas show stable to increasing trends. Overall in the Mediterranean Sea the population is variable from an area to another, but at present it is not considered to be in serious decline. Nevertheless, population monitoring needs to continue and exploitation must be carefully managed in the Mediterranean Sea. It is assessed as Least Concern at present.
In the Black Sea, the population showed a sharp decline in 1989-1991 due to a combination of environmental problems (presence of the predatory species Mnemiopsis leidyi brought into the Black Sea from ballast water - this species preyed upon the eggs of many native species in the Black Sea) and exploitation. Landings figures have been low since then, and they are now showing a very gradual increase after Boreo ovata, a predator of Mnemiopsis leidyi (Isinibilir and Tarkan 1998), was also introduced (again through ballast water).
Geographic Range Information
In the east Atlantic, this species is present from Bergen, Norway to East London, South Africa (perhaps reaching Durban) (Whitehead, 1990). In the west Indian Ocean, it is present in Mauritius, Seychelles and upwelling areas around Somalia (Whitehead et al. 1988).
It is also widespread in all the Mediterranean, Black and Azov Seas. In the Mediterranean Sea this species occurs in the Alboran sea (Agostini and Bakun 2002, Vargas-Yanez and Sabates 2007), Mar Menor (Perez-Ruzafa et al. 2004, Verdiel-Cubedo et al. 2006), Catalan Sea (Palomera and Lleonart 1989, Pertierra et al. 1997, Tudela et al. 1999, Agostini and Bakun 2002, Soria et al. 2003, Lloret et al. 2004, Sabates et al. 2007), Gulf of Lion (Tudela 1999, Plounevez and Champalbert 2000, Agostini and Bakur 2002, Sabates et al. 2007), Ligurian sea (Tudela 1999, Romanelli et al. 2002, Tunesi et al. 2005), Tyrrhenian sea (Tudela 1999, Gulf of Salerno: Romanelli et al. 2002, Carpentieri et al. 2005), Strait of Sicily (Agostini and Bakun 2002, Basilone et al. 2004), Adriatic Sea (Venice lagoon: Malavasi et al. 2004, north Adriatic Sea: Dulcic 1997, Agostini and Bakun 2002, Soria et al. 2003,Dulcic and Glamuzina 2006, Novigrad Sea: Sinovcic and Zorica 2006, north and central Adriatic Sea: Santojanni et al. 2003), Aegean Sea (Agostini and Bakun 2002, Turkish waters: Koutrakis and Tsikliras 2003, Akin et al. 2005, Giannoulaki et al. 2005, Somarakis 2005, Ayaz et al. 2006, Cicek et al. 2006, Gokce and Metin 2007), Lebanese waters (Bariche et al. 2006, 2007) and Egyptian waters (Abdallah 2002). There are some individuals in the Suez Canal and Gulf of Suez. It is also recorded from St. Helena (Whitehead et al. 1988).
Population Information
This is a very common and abundant species in the Mediterranean Sea.
According to Pertierra et al. (1997), data on commercial landings at eight ports in the Mediterranean Sea part of the peninsula Iberica from 1988 to 1992: 14,682t (88-89), 15,111t (89-90), 10,444t (90-91), 10,180t (91-92).
Tudela (1999) mentions that samples of this species were collected from Tarragona (97 specimens with lengths ranging from 10.6 to 12.6 cm), Gulf of Roses (89 specimens with lengths ranging from 8.5 to 15.8 cm TL, Gulf of Lion (79 specimens with lengths ranging from 10.5 to 14.7 cm), Ligurian Sea (94 specimens with lengths ranging from 8.5 to 11.2 cm), Elba island (94 specimens with lengths ranging from 9.8 to 13.3 cm), Tyrrhenian sea (97 specimens with lengths ranging from 9.9 to 13.4 cm).
According to Plounevez and Champalbert (2000), 354 specimens in the period 31/7 - 1/9 1995 and 503 specimens in the period 28/6 - 31/7 1996, were caught in the Gulf of Lion using amid-water trawl towed for about one hour.
Basilone et al. (2004) mentioned that 11,769 specimens with lengths ranging from 6 to 16.5 cm TL were collected from May 2000 to October 2001 in the Strait of Sicily on market landings in the Port of Sciacca, from two different fishing gears (purse seine and mid-water pair trawl).
According to Lloret et al. (2004), landing of anchovies from 0.1t (May 2000) to 344t (June 1999) were registered in the fishing area of the Ebro River (Spain).
Akin et al. (2005) mentioned that mean density values from 0.36 (mouth of the Dalyan river) to 6.27 (mouth of the channel opening to Lake Sultaniye) were obtained from October 1993 and September 1994 in the east Aegean Sea (Turkey), using a trammel nets with inner nets consisting of five 100 m long panels of 17, 20, 25, 28 and 32 mm mesh. The nets of inner panel were sandwiched by two 500 m nets having 110 mm mesh.
According to Sinovcic and Zorica (2006), 1,477 specimens with lengths ranging from 4.5 to 14.5 cm were collected in the Novigrad Sea (Adriatic Sea) in the estuary of Zrmanja river.
Bariche et al. (2006), mentioned that 4,666 specimens with lengths ranging from 3.6 to 11.5 cm TL were collected along Lebanese coasts from May to August 2003 with a purse seine (34 hauls). These specimens were obtained from a sampling on board by removing randomly a 31 bucket of fishes each time seines were taken out.
According to Romanelli et al. (2002), a total of 5,403 specimens (juvenile and larvae) were caught by means of seines (76 in the east Ligurian sea from 16 hauls, 5,140 in the west Ligurian sea 15 hauls, 187 in the Gulf of Salerno 43 hauls).
Cicek et al. (2006) mentioned that 640 specimens were collected from May 1999 to April 2000 using a bottom trawl nets of 6mm cod-end mesh size, in the Mersin bay (Turkey) in a depth range from 20 to 100 m.
According to Dulcic and Glamuzina (2006), 200 specimens with lengths ranging from 5.5 to 12.7 cm TL were collected from three east Adriatic estuarine systems (Tar cove, sampled between September 1999 and September 2000, Duce-Glava, sampled between October 1998 and October 1999, River Neretva estuary sampled between December 2002 and December 2003), using various fishing gears (beach seine, fyke-net, gill nets, fish traps).
Koutrakis and Tsikliras (2003) mentioned that 26 specimens with lengths ranging from 7.7 to 14.7 cm TL were sampled using various fishing gear (beach-seine, fyke-net, gill nets) in three north Aegean estuarine systems. Porto-Lagos (north-east Aegean Sea), a shallow coastal lagoon was sampled between December 1988 and September 1990.
According to Carpentieri et al. (2005), this species was sampled in July (304 ind/h) and May (58 ind/h), during a four seasonal 24h surveys conducted in July 2001, November 2001, March 2002 and May 2002 in the shelf break off the central Tyrrhenian sea. In each survey 8 hauls of 30 minutes each were performed every 3 hours throughout the 24h period with an otter trawl mounted into a 40 mm head rope, a 40 mm ground chain and 30-40 mm stretched mesh in the wing and cod-end respectively.
Gokce and Metin (2007) mentioned that 851 specimens were collected using three artisanal fishing boats (6.7 and 10 m long) comprising 39 fishing operations. The trials took place between May and October 2003 in Izmir Bay, Turkey. The fishing gear was combined trammel net to trammel net with one lower and one upper part. Each part is formed of three layers: the inner layer with a small mesh size (40 mm stretched mesh), the outer layers with a larger mesh size (220 mm stretched mesh). These nets, each 100m long and 1.30m deep, are hung to a common float line and lead line.
According to Abdallah (2002), 156 specimens with length from 4.8 to 10.9 cm TL were collected after eighteen cruises conducted in the Egyptian Mediterranean Sea waters using a commercial bottom trawler during the period January to December 1998. Fishing was carried out at depths of 30-200 m.
According to Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) (FAO-GFCM, 2007), 410,971 kg were landed form Barcelona fleet in 2005.
Habitat and Ecology Information
This is a pelagic and oceanodromous species, that occurs mainly along coastal warers, forming large schools. In the Mediterranean Sea, it occupies nearly all the water column, with the core of the population occurring in less then 50 m depth. In winter months it moves deeper in the water column (to around 200 m). Depth range in Mediterranean Sea is from sea level to 285 m, it is common over the continental shelf. Spawning occurs in very shallow water.
It tolerates salinities of 5-41 ppt and in some areas, enters lagoons, estuaries and lakes, especially during spawning. A study of Lloret et al. (2004) provide evidence of the influence of riverine inputs and wind mixing on the productivity of small pelagic fish such as Engraulis encrasicolus in the Mediterranean Sea. It tends to move further north and into surface waters in summer, retreating and descending in winter. It feeds on planktonic organisms (Plounevez and Champalbert 2000).
It spawns from April to November with peaks usually in the warmest months. In the central Adriatic Sea the main reproductive activities occurs between April and September (Sinovcic and Zorica 2006). In the Adriatic, age at maturity is reported as 8.2cm (males and females) (Sinovcic and Zorica 2006). Eggs are ellipsoidal to oval, floating in the upper 50 m and hatching during 24 to 65 hours. In the Ligurian sea juvenile and post larvae occur in shallow waters from September to January (Tunesi et al. 2005). The limits of the spawning season is dependent on temperature and is therefore more restricted in north areas. The sex ratio is 45% female (Koranteng 1993).
A study on the genetic of E. encrasicolus in the Mediterranean Sea (Tudela et al. 1999) underline that in this basin there is a single population with different spawning grounds. Individuals in the eastern Mediterranean Sea (Israel) are smaller than individuals further west.
Threats Information
This is a species with high commercial importance. Landing data are between 100,000 to 500,000t. This species can be caught with various gears.
In the Mediterranean Sea, it shows strong spatio-temporal variability related to environmental conditions. There is an important fishery of frys (very young individuals) in some areas in the Mediterranean Sea.
Its annual landings (tons) in the Mediterranean Sea (1996-2005), obtained from the FAO FISHSTAT Fisheries Statistical Database (2007): 83,412 (1996), 102,203 (1997) 86,708 (1998), 87,149 (1999), 104,159 (2000), 110,768 (2001), 104,748 (2002), 100,738 (2003), 109,449 (2004), 107,909 (2005).
Landings figures show a sharp decline around 1990 in the Black Sea (it apparently disappeared from the Azov Sea then but has since recovered). Figures in the Mediterranean Sea show strong fluctuations.
Some stocks have been assessed by FAO-General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) SAC (Scientific Advisory Committee) and Sub-Committee on Stock Assessment (SCSA). GSA areas assessed were: GSA1, GSA3, GSA6, GSA7, GSA16, GSA17, GSA18, GSA22. In general these stocks showed a high variability and only in a few cases are showing decreasing trends in recent years.
Use and Trade Information
This is a species with high commercial importance. It is marketed fresh, dried, smoked, canned and frozen, and can be used as fish meal (Frimodt 1995).
Conservation Actions Information
In the Black Sea and Azov Sea, there are minimum catch sizes: 6.5 cm (Georgia and Ukraine), 7 cm (Romania), 8 cm (Bulgaria) and 9 cm (Turkey). In the Black Sea, minimum catch size is 10 cm (Unsal 1989).
In the Mediterranean Sea, the minimum catch size set by the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) is 9 cm.
This species occurs in Marine Protected Area, but it is a very mobile species. In some cases there are national efforts to control the fisheries (e.g., time and area closures).
