NOTE Stergiou: Monthly catch variability of Engraulis enaasicolus 



213 



and physical oceanographic information, probably on 

 time scales of a few days and spatial scales of < 1 km 

 {sensu Leggett 1986). This information is not current- 

 ly available. The distribution and biology of larval, 

 juvenile, and adult anchovy and larval dispersal 

 patterns have not been studied in Hellenic waters. 

 However, some preliminary, conjectural discussion is 

 presented here. 



The anchovy spawning season in the eastern Mediter- 

 ranean extends from April to September with a peak 

 in the summer months (Demir 1965, S. Regner 1985). 

 Anchovy larvae and postlarvae occur in the plankton 

 between May and September with a peak in July- 

 September (S. Regner 1985). This corresponds to the 

 predictable period of the etesians winds. These dry 

 northern, northeastern, and eastern winds blow each 

 year over the Aegean Sea from the end of May until 

 the end of October with a maximum frequency in July- 

 August (Fig. 4; Carapiperis 1962, Mariopoulos 1961). 

 Since anchovy spawning in the eastern Mediterranean 

 does not seem to be affected by abiotic factors such as 

 temperature or salinity (Demir 1965, S. Regner 1985), 

 the summer spawning habit of anchovy may represent 

 an important adaptation to the highly oligotrophic con- 

 ditions of the stratified coastal Aegean waters in sum- 

 mer. By spawning in summer, anchovy larvae (1) do 



not compete with sardine larvae which occur in the 

 plankton mainly in winter and spring (Yannopoulos 

 1977, Daoulas and Economou 1986, Regner et al. 1987), 

 and (2) are released in a relatively food-rich environ- 

 ment due to the effect of the etesians winds. The in- 

 creased frequency and intensity of the etesians winds 



