The State of the Adriatic Sea Centered on the Small Pelagic Fish Populations

The paper provides an overview of the state of the small pelagic fish in the Adriatic Sea. The North Adriatic is reviewed for the 1976-1998 period and the South Adriatic for the 1987-1998 period. First the fluctuations in time and in space of the pelagic biomass, as a whole and per species, are presented. Then the dramatic collapse of anchovy stock and its apparent association with the decrease of surface temperature is discussed. Finally the changes of the anchovy and sardine catches are compared and analysed with respect to their abundances in the sea. The conclusion is that acoustic and satellite methods are able to provide a large amount of information on the variability in the pelagic populations; this is essential for an appropriate management of these resources. There is still a need, however, to refine the methods and to integrate this kind of information with further environmental data (including natural predators).