A Summary Report Of Life History Information On The Central Subpopulation Of Northern Anchovy (Engraulis Mordax) For The 2021 Stock Assessment

The Northern Anchovy (Engraulis mordax Girard) is one of the most abundant forage fishes in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and an important part of the food web as prey for marine mammals, seabirds, and predatory fishes. Northern Anchovy is a monitored species under the Coastal Pelagic Species Fishery Management Plan, and recently the Pacific Fisheries Management Council recommended that the central subpopulation of Northern Anchovy (CSNA) be assessed in 2021. The overall goal of this report is to summarize the life history information collected, analyzed, and submitted for consideration in the 2021 benchmark stock assessment for CSNA. The specific objectives are to: (1) determine the birthdate to be used for age assignments; (2) compute the ageing error matrices for the stock assessment model; and (3) generate an updated estimate of length at maturity for female CSNA.