A Collaborative Aerial Survey of Coastal Pelagic Species in Nearshore California Waters Fisheries

Pacific Sardine Sardinops sagax and Northern Anchovy Engraulis mordax are commercially important West Coast fish stocks managed within the Coastal Pelagic Species (CPS) complex by the Pacific Fishery Management Council and National Marine Fisheries Service. Before 2020, survey indices used in Pacific Sardine stock assessments did not explicitly account for nearshore biomass, which presumably had been relatively small compared to the total biomass of the population, but since 2015, has been a more substantial component of total biomass. During the recent Pacific Sardine stock decline, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and the California Wetfish Producers Association collaborated on an aerial survey off California to estimate nearshore (within 3,600 m from shore) CPS biomass to inform assessments. This project has also involved federal fisheries biologists and Pacific Fishery Management Council advisory bodies and committees, representing a unique collaborative effort to improve data used in CPS fisheries management. We will discuss successes, issues, and challenges in implementing this nontraditional survey and how these data can continue to inform future stock assessments.