Biodiversity: sardines have lost nearly 25% of their size in the Mediterranean

The sardines, one of the most caught fish in the world, are undergoing a major physical change. Since 2008, it has lost 25% of its size, going from 15 to 11 cm in length. The fish have also lost weight, from 30 to 10 grams. Almost all of the vessels that targeted sardines abandoned the activity. Thirteen years ago, we harvested nearly 12,000 tonnes per year, today the drop is severe, with only 1,000 tonnes.

“We can’t sell it, we can’t box it, the fish is not big enough“, explains Ange Morello, fisherman in Sète (Herault). Compared to Atlantic sardines, Mediterranean sardines are no longer strong in the markets. Scientists have established that after 2008, sardines weighed only 10 grams, for a size of 11 centimeters. After seven years of experimentation, researchers have found the problem: the plankton, a micro algae from which they are feed exclusively, decreased by 15%, and it is ten times smaller and therefore less nutritious.