Environmental Constraints on European Hake (Merluccius merluccius) Recruitment and Trawling Fisheries Management in Algeria

European hake (Merluccius merluccius) landings in Algeria remain low and unstable, despite multiple increases in trawling efforts since 1990. Comparative analysis of landings in Algeria with those observed in other northern Mediterranean countries (Italy, Spain, and France) indicates that when Algeria achieves higher catches, landings in other countries decline, and vice versa. To explain this situation, an analysis was conducted using data collected during monitoring surveys named ALDEM (2013, 2014, and 2015) in Algeria. This analysis considered that Algerian waters extend from the Alboran Sea in the west to the Algerian Basin in the east.

The results of this analysis on hake sampled during the three surveys suggest that environmental parameters do not meet the optimal conditions necessary for effective juvenile recruitment, making the existence of nursery grounds unlikely in these waters. Finally, it appears that recruitment in Algeria mainly depends on juvenile hake originating from nursery areas located further north, specifically in the northern Algerian Basin and the northeastern Atlantic near the Mediterranean for the Alboran Sea. In the absence of local nursery areas and with a reliance on these externally sourced recruits, sustainable management of hake stocks in Algeria is complex and reliant on inputs from adjacent regions, potentially impacting the socio-economic stability of Algeria’s trawling fishery.