© 2006 International Council for the Exploration of the Sea
Temporal and geographic variability of sardine maturity at length in the northeastern Atlantic and the western Mediterranean
a Instituto de Investigação das Pescas e do Mar (INIAP-IPIMAR), Av. Brasília s/n, 1449-006 Lisboa, Portugal
b Instituto Español de Oceanografía (IEO), Centro Oceanográfico de Vigo, Apdo. 1552, 36280 Vigo, Spain
c Museo do Mar de Galicia, Avenida Atlántida 160, 36280 Vigo, Spain
*Correspondence to A. Silva: tel: +351 213027000; fax: +351 213025948. e-mail: asilva{at}ipimar.pt.
We investigate spatial and temporal variations in sardine maturation patterns and discuss the implications for stock structure, using recent samples collected opportunistically across the species range and data collected regularly for the assessment of the Atlanto-Iberian stock. Maturity ogives were fitted to maturity-at-length data using Generalized Linear Models, and maturation patterns are summarized by length at first maturity (L50). Sardine attain sexual maturity at a total length of 10.9–16.8 cm. The percentage of mature small sardine increases from north to south across the Northeast Atlantic. L50 is low in the Mediterranean and Moroccan waters, but maturation is delayed towards the limits of the species' range. Sardine mature smaller in the Gulf of Cadiz than in other areas of the Atlanto-Iberian stock, although there is no indication of a different maturation pattern north of the stock boundary. These results are not sufficient to review the stock structure of sardine, but question the hypothesis of homogeneous biological properties of sardine populations within the stock area. Sardine maturation length reduced and the spawning period extended in western Iberia during the past two decades. Associated increases in fish condition and fat reserves during the summer feeding season suggest that variations in reproductive traits may have been caused by environmentally driven changes in food availability.
Keywords: condition, Iberian waters, maturity at length, sardine, stock structure
Received 15 August 2005; accepted 5 January 2006.
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