Marine and Coastal Surveys

The JUVENA project aims to estimate the abundance of the pelagic community, with emphasis on anchovy juveniles as an early estimator of recruitment, using trawl acoustic methodology in the Bay of Biscay at the end of summer every year since 2003. The abundance of juvenile anchovy is revised and coordinated under ICES WGACEGG and is used by the ICES assessment WGHANSA, as one of the inputs to assess the population status of the species and to provide scientific advice on anchovy fishing quotas. Coordinated between AZTI and IEO, the survey follows an ecosystemic approach, with AZTI leading the assessment studies and IEO leading the ecological studies. In addition to estimating the biomass of adult anchovy, other 10 species are included in the assessment such as sardine, mackerel, horse mackerel, boarfish or the mesopelagic species Maurolicus muelleri. The hydrographic context is also defined by several CTD deployments that sample the vertical profiles of temperature and salinity, as well as the composition of the planktonic community using specific nets (e.g. PairoVet, Bongo). Since 2013, the ecosystem sampling also includes the distribution and abundance of higher predators (seabirds, marine mammals, large pelagic species) and, more recently, the description and distribution of marine debris and human activities.