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Abundance and operating area by benthic trawl of Atlantic horse mackerel in the central Mediterranean

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Abstract

Trachurus trachurus [Linnaeus C (1758) Systema Naturae. Ed. 10th, 1: 824 p. (reprint 1956, London)] is abundant in Tunisian catches, with landings varying according to region and season. Due to its quantitative importance and economic contributions to the fishing sector, it is crucial to assess its biomass and locate its areas of concentration. Exploration and experimental trawling operations are conducted aboard the oceanographic vessel O/V “Hannibal” throughout the entire Tunisian sea. However, this study focuses on the findings in the north and east of the Tunisian sea. In the east area, the depth prospected varied from 40 m to 227 m with 49 hauls, while in the north area, the depth ranged between 30 m and 512 m with 53 hauls. Three important areas of Trachurus trachurus concentration were identified in the eastern waters, particularly in the Gulf of Hammamet, above Korba banks, Mamoura and Hallouf. The overall biomass index varied from 100 kg/km2 to 455 kg/km2 depending on the location. In the northern Tunisian waters, four specific areas of concentration of this species were noted, particularly toward the northeast of the Gulf of Tunis, above El Hawaria Bank at a depth of 100 m. The three other areas were located north of Bizerte, above the Cani Islands Bank; above Stafette and Fratelli benches; and toward the extreme northwest of Tunisia, south of Galite. The estimated biomass index ranges from 118 kg/km2 to 532 kg/km2. The statistical chi-squared test was applied to analyze and identify the difference between the two areas, using the Statistica 7 software. The findings revealed a variation in the length distribution between the northern and eastern Tunisian waters.

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Acknowledgements

The authors express their gratitude to the team of the Halieutic Sciences Laboratory at the National Institute of Marine Sciences and Technologies (INSTM) for their valuable technical support.

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No funding was received for this study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institut National Des Sciences et Technologies de la Mer, La Goulette, Tunisia

    Samia Fezzani, Mourad Cherif, Amira Saoudi, Kamel Zaara, Yassine Ben moumen & Hechmi Missaoui

  2. Institut National Des Sciences et Technologies de la Mer, Tabarka, Tunisia

    Okbi Rjeibi

  3. Institut National Des Sciences et Technologies de la Mer, Sfax, Tunisia

    Othman Jarboui

  4. Institut Supérieur de Pêche et d’Aquaculture de Bizerte, Menzel Jemil, Tunisia

    Sami Mili

Authors
  1. Samia Fezzani
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  2. Okbi Rjeibi
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  3. Mourad Cherif
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  4. Amira Saoudi
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  5. Kamel Zaara
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Correspondence to Samia Fezzani.

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Responsible Editor: Mohamed Ksibi.

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Fezzani, S., Rjeibi, O., Cherif, M. et al. Abundance and operating area by benthic trawl of Atlantic horse mackerel in the central Mediterranean. Euro-Mediterr J Environ Integr 9, 445–454 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41207-023-00412-z

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