Sardine

There is concern for the biomass of Sardine in Northwest Africa, Zone C and there is also concern for fishing pressure.Route 2 (data limited) scoring has been applied to this rating owing to the limited reference points for fishing pressure and biomass. Sardine is considered to have a medium resilience to fishing pressure.Stock assessments are carried out by the Fishery Committee for the Eastern Central Atlantic. The most recent assessment was published in 2025 using data up to 2024. The next assessment is expected in 2026.The stock assessment uses reference points for both fishing pressure (F) and biomass (B), where Fcur and Bcur describe current levels, and the target reference points F0.1 and B0.1 represent the fishing mortality and biomass associated with a more precautionary exploitation rate. F0.1 equates to the fishing mortality rate that achieves 90% of the yield at FMSY, and B0.1 the corresponding biomass. These targets indicate the desirable state of the stock. F0.1 and B0.1 were selected instead of the traditional FMSY and BMSY due to data inconsistencies and to ensure a more precautionary approach.In 2024, Bcur was 66% of B0.1, indicating that the stock is currently overexploited. Therefore, we consider there to be concern for biomass.Catch increased slightly from 491,000 t in 2023 to 496,000 t in 2024, remaining below the recent five‑year (2020–2024) average of 651,000 t. However, fishing pressure is above the target levels, with Fcur at 109% of F0.1 in 2024. Therefore, we consider there to be concern for fishing pressure.This stock is strongly influenced by environmental factors and exhibits fluctuations in biomass independent of fishing. For this reason, the maximum total catch to be caught must be adapted to the natural modifications of the stock. The structure and abundance of the stock should also be closely monitored by methods independent of fishing, such as coordinated acoustic surveys covering the entire range of the species. Additionally, the average size of sardine has declined in recent years, indicating the need for continued vigilance in how this stock is exploited.The Working Group maintains the recommendation to limit catches of sardines in this area to a level not exceeding 496,000 tonnes.

Few appropriate management measures are currently in place, and the stock is considered overfished, with insufficient action to support recovery. Management should include species‑specific catch limits and coordinated TAC setting between nations.There is limited accessible recent information available about management measures for this Zone C area.West African small pelagic stocks are exploited by both industrial and artisanal fisheries operating in Morocco, Mauritania, Senegal and The Gambia, targeting mixed assemblages of species including anchovy, sardinellas, horse mackerel and chub mackerel. Several of the species within this mixed fishery are considered over‑exploited at a regional level. Morocco has implemented a multispecies management plan for Zone C (Cap Boujdour–Cap Blanc) since 2010; however, the plan does not include species‑specific measures or harvest control rules, limiting its capacity to respond effectively to the status of individual stocks.Morocco sets a national total allowable catch (TAC) for small pelagic species, alongside a catch ceiling for foreign fleets operating under fishing agreements with Morocco and Mauritania. These limits are not species‑specific, although total catches have generally remained below the TAC. Additional management measures include spatial and seasonal closures, trip limits for pelagic trawlers, annual catch limits for purse seiners, and zoning arrangements to separate industrial and artisanal fishing activities.In contrast, Mauritania does not currently operate a formal fishery management plan, national TAC or harvest control rule for small pelagic fisheries, despite policy commitments to precautionary management. A partial TAC applies to EU vessels operating under access agreements and has been respected, but this accounts for only a small proportion of total catches, and controls on the wider fleet remain unclear. Existing measures include limits on offshore trawling, minimum mesh sizes, minimum landing sizes for sardine, and licensing requirements, although the artisanal fishery is effectively open access.Discarding is thought to be low in Morocco, while levels in Mauritania are poorly quantified. Illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing continues to occur across the region, particularly in more southerly areas, although monitoring, control and enforcement have shown signs of improvement in recent years.

Sardine in this stock area (Zone C) are primarily caught using purse seine nets and pelagic trawls. Both gears are considered to have very low potential effects on the habitat and on protected species.These gears are also generally regarded as having low risk of interaction with protected species, although available data remain limited.Information on interactions with protected species in Morocco and Mauritania is scarce, but some protective measures are in place. These include bycatch limits for allowable non‑target species and specific protections for sharks. Fishing zones are delineated to separate artisanal and industrial fishing activities in each country. In Morocco, artisanal vessels and purse seiners (with a gross tonnage of 2–150 tonnes) are restricted to operating beyond 2 nautical miles (nm) from the coast. In Mauritania, industrial fleets are required to operate beyond 15 nm, while no spatial restrictions currently apply to artisanal fisheries. Given the pelagic nature of the fishing gears used, interactions with seabed ecosystems are not expected.A network of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) has been established along the Northwest African coast. While these MPAs do not directly contribute to the management of sardine stocks, they may provide indirect ecosystem benefits. Morocco has three MPAs within the central area, although the extent and effectiveness of fisheries restrictions within these sites are unclear. Mauritania has four MPAs, including the Banc d’Arguin National Park, where industrial vessels and outboard engines are prohibited and access is limited primarily to travel and tourism. It remains unclear whether fishing restrictions apply consistently across the other MPAs in the region.A bycatch threshold of 3% of total catch is set for small pelagic fisheries in both Morocco and Mauritania. However, interactions between small pelagic fisheries and protected species are poorly documented, and further investigation is needed. Sharks are commonly reported as bycatch in fisheries off Northwest Africa, along with sea turtles (including green and loggerhead turtles), manta rays, sunfish and dolphins. Nonetheless, interactions with protected species in the purse‑seine sector are considered likely to be low, and the Moroccan Fishery Improvement Project (FIP) has concluded that the Moroccan sardine purse‑seine fishery does not pose a significant threat to endangered species.In addition, Morocco implemented a ban on the capture of certain shark species between 2012 and 2017, which was subsequently extended through to 2022. This ban covers hammerhead sharks (Sphyrna spp., except bonnethead S. tiburo), oceanic whitetip shark (Carcharhinus longimanus, Critically Endangered), and bigeye thresher shark (Alopias superciliosus, Vulnerable). The measures align with commitments and recommendations from the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) and the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM).Sardine occupy a position at or near the base of the marine food web, and the ecosystem impacts of their large‑scale removal remain poorly understood and warrant further investigation. Small pelagic species targeted in this fishery are also highly dependent on oceanographic conditions in Northwest Africa, adding further uncertainty to assessments of long‑term ecosystem effects.