anchovy Engraulis encrasicholus Linnaeus was 

 conducted during 1972 and 1973 to establish 

 currently occurring levels of these elements 

 and to produce a baseline for future reference. 



The Fishery 



The total fish catch landed in the eastern 

 Adriatic remained relatively stable from 1964 

 through 1971, at 25,000-30,000 metric tons 

 (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United 

 Nations 1972), with an additional 2,000-3,000 

 metric tons taken annually for noncommercial 

 use. Three small pelagic species of clupeids con- 

 sistently compose at least 70% of this catch 

 (Table 1), about 85% of which is canned, the 

 balance being sold fresh. No significant fish meal 

 industry currently utilizes these species. 



There is strong evidence that the sardine is 

 already fished to capacity, but that the anchovy 

 may be significantly underexploited (Major 

 1970). The two species selected for the initial 

 survey were the sardine, the most abundant and 

 commercially most important species in the 

 Adriatic, and the anchovy, the species suspected 

 of having the greatest potential for increased 

 production. 



The Stock 



The population structure and migration pat- 

 terns of the Adriatic sardine and anchovy are 

 not well understood. Gamulin (1956) opined that 

 the sardine population migrates offshore an- 

 nually from the very shallow waters of the north- 

 ern Adriatic to somewhat deeper waters (60- 

 120 m), but not into the central Adriatic, a 

 behavior pattern typical of the species (Larrarieta 

 1960). Zavodnik (1968) presented similar evi- 

 dence, noting that the species is completely 

 absent from the shallow coastal zone by December. 



FISHERY BULLETIN: VOL. 73, NO. 1 



Krajnovic and Dekaris (1968) found serological 

 evidence that various subpopulations pass the 

 Istrian coast during these migrations. 



Evidence for anchovy migrations, e.g. based 

 on seasonal variations in catch statistics at 

 various ports, appears somewhat clearer. Picci- 

 netti (1970) suggests that the population 

 "winters" off Ancona and farther south off the 

 western coast of the Adriatic, and during the 

 spring migrates eastward and then northward 

 along the Dalmatian coast, reaching the Istrian 

 islands and peninsula during early summer. 

 Continuing into the Gulf of Trieste and westward 

 to Venice during autumn, the population returns 

 to its "wintering" grounds by December. 



While it is difficult to define exact migratory 

 routes, or to delimit subpopulations, the evidence 

 suggests that a composite stock of sardine and 

 anchovy exists in the northern Adriatic, and that 

 the Rovinj fishery "samples" much of this stock 

 as it migrates past the Yugoslav Istrian peninsula. 



MATERIALS AND METHODS 

 Sampling 



During 1972 the major fishing season off Istria 

 extended from June to December, rather than the 

 more common May to October season. Samples 

 were collected throughout the 1972 season and 

 during the first few months of the 1973 season 

 from the catch landed at the Mirna Cannery in 

 Rovinj, Yugoslavia. These fish were usually 

 caught within the preceding 12-18 h, within 

 15-30 km of Rovinj, using night light and purse 

 seine. 



Each sample usually consisted of at least six 

 "representative" sardines and six "representa- 

 tive" anchovies selected from the catch, although 

 often 50, and occasionally up to 60, fish were 

 collected. Samples were immediately taken to 



Table 1. — Yugoslavia's marine fisheries catch, 1964-71. 



Nominal catch in thousands of metric tons 



Species' 



Sardina pilchardus (sardine) 

 Clupea sprattus (sprat) 

 Engraulis enchrasicholus (anchovy) 

 Scomber scombrus (Atlantic mackerel) 

 Boops boops (greater amberjack) 

 Maena maena, M. smarts (mullet) 

 Misc. marine fishes (18 spp). 

 Crustacea, and f^ollusca 



Total marine catch 



'All scientific and common names from Bini (1965). 



194 



