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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The benchmark assessment for sardine in the Adriatic Sea (GSAs 17 and 18) was organized as a session of the Working Group on the Assessment of Small Pelagic Species (WGSASP), between 27 November and 1 December 2023 in Ancona, Italy. The meeting aimed at finalizing the benchmark process and defining the quantitative stock status of sardine in the Adriatic Sea, perform short-term forecasting and establish the fishery dynamics basis for MSE. To reach the objectives, this benchmark session built on the results of the first benchmark session in May 2023, which highlighted the potential contribution of a combined survey for the whole Adriatic to inform age-structured and Surplus production models. Accordingly, the data preparation meetings involved three sessions aimed at reviewing the acoustic survey data (10–12 July 2023), exploring the survey length frequency and ALK data by subareas and countries, and commercial by countries, including outer and inner areas in Croatian waters (East Adriatic) (23–26 October 2023), and building a unique biomass index for the Adriatic Sea (13–17 November 2023). The group agreed on the roadmap toward the finalization of the benchmark considering use of a4a or SPiCT models in advance of the benchmark meeting in December 2023. Additionally, a length-based integrated model (SS3) was used to explore model with catch informed by quarter and link the benchmark with the subsequent MSE implementation, while the FLSAM model contributed to explore including a second index, so-called ‘’recruitment index’’ built from only survey data from the inner area in Croatia (East Adriatic). As a result, sardine in GSA 17 and 18 was considered to be at increased risk of being overexploited SSBcurr/Bmsy ratio: 0.65; SSBcurr/Bpa ratio: 1.29, SSBcurr/Blim ratio: 2.16) and in overexploitation (Fcurr/FMSY ratio: 1.52).