Effect of climatic oscillations on small pelagic fisheries and its economic profit in the Gulf of Cadiz

Abstract

Several studies have shown the effect of climatic oscillations on fisheries. Small pelagic fish are of special global economic importance and very sensitive to fluctuations in the physical environment in which they live. The main goal of this study was to explore the relationship between the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), the East Atlantic pattern (EA), and the Arctic Oscillation (AO) on the landings and first sale prices of the most representative small pelagic commercial species of the purse-seine fisheries in the Gulf of Cadiz (North East Atlantic), the European anchovy Engraulis encrasicolus and the European sardine Sardine pilchardus. Generalised linear models (GLMs) with different data transformations and distribution errors were generated to analyse these relationships. The best results of the models were obtained by applying a moving average of order 3 to the dataset with a double weighted median. Our results demonstrate relationships between NAO, AO, and EA and European anchovy and sardine landings. These cause an indirect effect on the first sale price in markets through catch variations, which affect the price according to the law of supply and demand. The limitations of this study and management implications are discussed.