Baseline assessment of the South African sardine resource using data from 1984‐2019

<div>A quantitative assessment of the South African sardine resource has been updated to include data from 1984 to 2019. This two</div><div>mixing‐component hypothesis assumes no stock recruitment relationship during conditioning. The west component abundance</div><div>remains at a very low level. The biomass is estimated to be about 20% of the historical (1984‐2019) average in November 2019,</div><div>with a biomass of about 90 thousand tons. The west component spawner biomass is estimated to be below 7 thousand tons (13% of the historical average) and the effective spawner biomass is estimated to be 21 and a half thousand tons (31% of the historical average). The south component abundance is estimated to be higher, at 70% (biomass) to 88% (spawner biomass and effective spawner biomass) of the historical average, with a biomass in November 2019 of about 385 thousand tons.</div>