PO-SPACC - Portuguese small pelagic fish and climate change programme: a comparative retrospective analysis

Fluctuations in small pelagic fish recruitment in the North-eastern
Atlantic upwelling ecosystem have been observed, namely decreasing
trends in the last decades. Sardine, horse mackerel and anchovy are
socio-economically important species for the countries of the region
(Portugal, Spain, France and Morocco). The fluctuations of their
populations pose important problems for fisheries management policies.

Sets of atmospheric, oceanographic and fisheries biology data from
in situ and remote sensing observations are the primary sources of
information to create the time series for the present investigation.
State-of-the-art statistical methods will be applied in the analysis
of these time series.

The main objective of Portugal-SPACC is to investigate and
understand the causes that drive the variability in small pelagic fish
population dynamics through the organization and comparative analysis
of time series of fisheries biology data and environmental data. The
final goal of PO-SPACC will be the establishment of the
interconnectivity of SPF and it's environment through functional
interrelations.

This information was provided by Dr. Miguel Santos of IPIMAR