2011 Trinational Sardine Forum

The Fisheries Resource Division, Southwest Fisheries Science Center (FRD, SWFSC) held the 12th Annual Trinational Sardine Forum (TSF) in the Sumner Auditorium at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UCSD, La Jolla, CA on December 8th and 9th, 2011. Following the Forum, SWFSC held an Otolith Workshop on December 10^th, at the Torrey Pines Court, SWSFC, La Jolla CA. Forum and Otolith workshop attendees included almost seventy participants from Australia, Canada, Mexico and the United States and represented government agencies, academic institutions, and industry. The Forum presentations included regional fishery reports spanning locations from Mexico to Canada. Several updates and papers presented current conditions of stock structure, regional biomass, sardine stock assessment, age and growth assessment, and ecosystem. A large portion of the Forum on Friday, December 9th, was dedicated to Working Group Breakout Sessions which provided opportunities for participants to voice individual perspectives and discuss issues. The special session on the national management strategies indicated different approaches were used by three countries to manage the sardine populations. While harvest guidelines are used by the US and Canada, Mexico uses minimum fish length. The Forum's focus issue centered on the upcoming Coastwide Survey, and allowed members from Canada, Mexico and the United States to further the joint-planning effort for a possible trinational collective survey in summer of 2012.