This species is widespread and common in the Mediterranean Sea. It is a commercial species, showing fluctuations, but there have been no serious population declines in recent years. Management measures are in place for this species and it is not considered threatened at present. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) landings figures show a general declining trend between 1995 and 2005, but not at a rate that meets the IUCN thresholds. This, and the difficulties in estimating population trends based solely on landings figures, does not appear to support a listing under criterion A. It is therefore assessed as Least Concern for the Mediterranean Sea.

This species is present in north-east Atlantic from Iceland (rare) and North Sea, southward to Bay de Gorée, Senegal.

This is a very common and widespread species in the Mediterranean Sea. Gaps in the distribution map are likely due to a lack of data rather than the species not being present in these areas.

In the Mediterranean Sea, this species occurs from Alboran Sea (Vargas-Yanez et al. 2007), Iberian coasts from Cape Cervera to Cape Oropesa (Iglesias et al. 2003), Mar Menor (Perez-Ruzafa et al. 2006), Catalan Sea and Balearic islands (Alvarez and Morales-Nin 1992, Olivar et al. 2003, Soria et al. 2003, Lloret et al. 2004, Sabates et al. 2004, Bozzano et al. 2005, FAO-GFCM 2007), Gulf de Fos (Rasoanarivo et al. 1991), Gulf of Lion (Letourneur et al. 2001), Ligurian sea (Romanelli et al. 2002, Tunesi and Molinari 2005), Tyrrhenian sea (Romanelli et al. 2002, IREPA 2003, Colloca et al. 2004), Adriatic Sea (Soria et al. 2003, Malavasi et al. 2004, Sinovcic et al. 2004, Santojanni et al. 2005, Dulcic and Glamuzina 2006), Aegean Sea (Giannoulaki et al. 1999; Tserpes et al. 1999; Koutrakis and Tsikliras 2003; Ganias et al. 2003, 2004; Kallianiotis et al. 2004; Somarakis et al. 2004; Giannoulaki et al. 2005; Koutrakis et al. 2005; Somarakis et al. 2006), Cretan sea (Kallianiotis et al. 2000), Turkish waters (Canli et al. 2001, Sever et al. 2005, Ayaz et al. 2006, Gokce and Metin 2007), Sea of Marmara (Tarkan et al. 2006, Yuksek et al. 2006), Levantine basin (Goren and Galil 2005), Lebanese waters (Bariche et al. 2007), Tunisian waters (Joiris et al. 1999). It is also present in the Black Sea.

Fluctuations in recruitment in some areas have been reported in recent years, this results in fluctuations in populations and fishery statistics. However, this is not considered a problem for this species at present.

According to Joiris et al. (1999), 87 specimens were collected in Tunisian waters from small and large seines in the period of August and September 1994.

Romanelli et al. (2002) mentioned that samples were collected in the east and west Ligurian Sea and Gulf of Salerno in the fishing season of 1997, using a hand hauled commercial seine (wings: 70 m each, mouth width: 8 m): 70 juvenile were caught in the east Ligurian Sea from 10 hauls conducted in February, 50,000 juvenile were caught in the west Ligurian sea from 17 hauls conducted in January, and 141 juvenile were caught in the Gulf of Salerno from 52 hauls conducted in January, February and March.

According to Ganias et al. (2003), 445 adult sardines were collected during the night from coastal locations of the central Aegean Sea during November and December 1999 and 2000. Sampling was carried out on board the commercial purse seine fleet, as well as on the R.V. ‘‘Philia", by means of a small pelagic trawl (mouth opening: 10m, cod-end mesh size: 10mm) towed near the surface (5-40 m) during 45-60 min, in a stepped oblique manner, at 3-4 knots. A total of 23 purse seine samples and 5 trawl samples were collected in 1999, and 19 purse seine and 11 trawl samples were collected in 2000.

Somarakis et al. (2004) mentioned that 134 samples of adult sardines were collected on a monthly basis from coastal locations of central Greece, from September 1999 to August 2000. Sampling was carried out on board the commercial fleet of Chalkis and Piraeus, operating in the central Aegean Sea, and Patras, operating in the central Ionian Sea.

According to Lloret et al. (2004), landing figures of sardine from Ebro delta (Catalan Sea) varied from 0.1t (for December 2000 and January 2001) to 1,500t (from October 1995).

Sever et al. (2005) mentioned that 365 specimens, with lengths ranging from 9.6 to 14.9 cm FL, were collected on a monthly basis from commercial catches (70% purse net fishing and 30% beach seine) at various sites in Izmir bay from January 1997 to December 1997.

According to Bariche et al. (2006), 3,098 specimens with lengths ranging from 4.4 to 13.0 cm TL, were collected in the coastal waters of Lebanon, in the Daoura region, north of Beirut, for 4 months starting from May 2003 with a weekly sample. Fishing activities were conducted with a purse seine (5 mm mesh, 170 m long and 40 m deep).

Dulcic and Glamuzina (2006) mentioned that 148 specimens (5.5 to 15.0 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).

According to Koutrakis et al. (2005), 108 specimens were collected in March 1990 and 677 specimens in May in the Porto-Lagos Lagoon from April 1989 to August 1990. Fishes were collected using a nylon centre-bag seine net (3 mm bar mesh size) of 10 m length and 1.2 m height. Sampling was conducted at the end of each month, at the same time of the day. Each haul covered an area of 250 m² approximately. The bag seine was hauled inside the small channels of the lagoon, covering the channel from bank to bank at fixed distances.

Koutrakis and Tsikliras (2003) mentioned that 106 specimen with length varied from 1.9 and 18.4 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 Sinovcic et al. (2004), 7,374 specimens (5.5 to 19.3 cm TL) were caught by purse seine and beach seine throughout the period from January 1998 to February 2003 in the east Croatian part of the Adriatic Sea.

Tarkan et al. (2006) mentioned that 11 specimens (9 to 15.3 cm TL) were collected from six locations in the Marmara Region, Turkey using various type of fishing gear (beach-seine, fyke-net, gill nets and electrofishing).

According to FAO-GFCM (2007), 579,370 kg of Sardina pilchardus were caught by the entire Barcelona fleet in 2005.

This is a pelagic, oceanodromous, littoral species (Brito 1991). The spawning season differs for populations in the Mediterranean Sea and in the Black Sea: in the Mediterranean Sea the species spawns in September-June, with a peak in autumn, in the Black Sea it spawns from June to August. It spawns in the open sea or near the coast, producing 50,000-60,000 eggs with a diameter of 1.5 mm (Muus and Nielsen 1999). This species forms schools, usually at depths between 25 to 55 or even 100 m by day, rising to 10 to 35 m at night. It mainly feeds on planktonic crustaceans and also on larger organisms. It breeds between 20 to 25 m, near the shore or as much as 100 km out to sea.

This is a species with high commercial importance. Its main catching methods are purse seines, set nets, lampara nets, small drift nets.
Sardina pilchardus annual landings (tons) in the Mediterranean Sea and Black Sea (1996-2005), obtained from the FAO FISHSTAT Fisheries Statistical Database (2007):
224,546 (1996), 209,851 (1997), 204,094 (1998), 212,244 (1999), 215,932 (2000), 199,927 (2001), 189,128 (2002), 179,178 (2003), 181,738 (2004), 203,541 (2005).

In Morocco, this is the main target species (70% of total small pelagic catch) (O. Kada pers. comm. 2007).

Several stocks have been recently assessed by SCSA GFCM (Subcommittee of Stock Assessment for GFCM): stocks in GSA areas: GSA1, GSA3, GSA6, GSA7, GSA16, GSA17, GSA18, GSA22. In most cases, these stocks were considered fully exploited.

Recruitment fluctuations in some areas have been reported in recent years, this results in fluctuations in populations and fishery statistics. However, this is not considered a problem for this species at present. It does not have a particularly high value, it is eaten but often used as bait or fish food.

This is a species with high commercial importance. It is marketed fresh, frozen or canned. Also utilized dried or salted and smoked.
It does not have a particularly high value, it is eaten but often used as bait or fish food.

Some national measures are in place. In Morocco fishing effort controls are in place, there has also been a freeze on investment in canning factories and fishing gear in Morocco. There is no minimum length in place, but a maximum number of individuals per kg (50 per kg) in Morocco.

EU has a minimum landing size adopted by EC countries in the Mediterranean Sea: 11 cm, or EC member states can convert this measure into 55 specimens per kg. There are no minimum landing sizes in the Black Sea.

This species may be present in marine protected areas that fall within its distribution.