Trend exploration of MEDIAS acoustic surveys for early warning and prioritization of small pelagics assessments in the Mediterranean

The objective of the report is to detect steep declining trends in biomass and abundance, of anchovy and sardine from acoustic surveys in the Mediterranean Sea. Declining trends would give an early warning on the recent stock dynamics and potentially trigger a EC DG MARE request of priority stocks for assessment. Overall the attempt of identifying trends was severely limited by lack of submissions and data quality issues. This was the first such attempt and it nevertheless highlights potential needs of focusing attention on stocks of Sardine in SA 6, Anchovy and to less extent Sardine in SA 17 and 18. Potentially other stocks could need attention but it was not identifiable with current data.