Anchovy Recruitment on the Africana Voyage 047, August 1986

The main objectives of the cruise were a direct assessment of the biomass of adult anchovy and pilchard on the South and East coasts by acoustic survey, supplemented by aerial fish spotting (East Coast only); an acoustic investigation of the distribution and behaviour of other pelagic fish of commercial importance; an investigation of the relationship between anchovy, pilchard and the hydrobiological environment, specifically water temperature and plankton distribution; a determination of the extent to which anchovy recruits penetrated onto the South Coast, as follow-up to recruit surveys on the West Coast in May and June (Voyages 44 and 45) and a study of the broad physical and chemical features of the Agulhas Bank and East Coast continental shelf in winter.