Distribution, biomass, and demographics of coastal pelagic fishes in the California Current Ecosystem during summer 2023 based on acoustic-trawl sampling

This report provides: 1) a detailed description of the acoustic-trawl method (ATM) used by NOAA’s Southwest Fisheries Science Center for direct assessments of the dominant coastal pelagic species (CPS; i.e.: Pacific Sardine Sardinops sagax, Northern Anchovy Engraulis mordax, Pacific Mackerel Scomber japonicus, Jack Mackerel Trachurus symmetricus, and Pacific Herring Clupea pallasii) in the California Current Ecosystem of the west coast of the United States (U.S.) and sometimes portions of Canada and Baja CA, Mexico; and 2) estimates of the biomasses, distributions, and demographics of those CPS encountered in the survey area between 17 July and 3 November 2023.