STOCK ASSESSMENT OF SMALL PELAGIC FISH OFF THE COAST OF AFRICA

Stock assessment of small pelagic fish off the coast of Africa. A group of scientists from the All-Russian Research Institute of Fisheries and Oceanography (VNIRO, a subordinate institution of the Federal Agency for Fishery) completed an international voyage on the ATLANTNIRO research vessel, which took place in the Altantika region of Morocco.

The main goal of the expedition is to obtain information on the replenishment of populations of small pelagic fish (European sardine, eastern mackerel, European and West African horse mackerel) and assess the habitat conditions of aquatic biological resources.

The Russian-Moroccan research programme included the collection of data to study the biological characteristics and size and age composition of the fish population, the qualitative and quantitative species composition of phyto, zoo-, ichthyoplankton, as well as the implementation of a complex of hydrometeorological, oceanological, hydrochemical observations.

The voyage collected information that confirmed the positive dynamics of the state of stocks of all recorded species, with the exception of sardines.

While staying in the port of Casablanca, the ship was visited by the Consul General of the Russian Federation in the Kingdom of Morocco, Oleg Prokhorov, and representatives of the Moroccan authorities. Diplomats were given an excursion and acquainted with the work of scientific laboratories. The parties discussed the tasks of the voyage, noted the practical relevance and prospects for cooperation between the two states in the development of marine fisheries and the development of regulatory measures for the rational exploitation of aquatic biological resources.

The final results of the survey will be obtained after processing all the data in the AtlantNIRO laboratories and will be considered at the upcoming Russian-Moroccan talks in 2023.

Source