Characterization of essential habitats for juvenile small pelagic fish in the Mediterranean in relation to oceanographic and topographic characteristics.

Advancement and harmonization of acoustic methods for the estimation of the abundance of juvenile fish as a means of predicting recruitment and improving adaptive management of the stocks.

Assessment of the effects of fisheries on post-larval stages on the dynamics of the stocks.

Improvement, through a comparative approach, of the understanding of the biotic and abiotic agents that control late-larval/juvenile growth and feeding rates and consequently the recruitment strength.

Define and improve the selectivity of existing towed gears used to catch small pelagic fishes in the Mediterranean.

Improvement of current stock assessment in the Mediterranean by transfer of know-how from the Atlantic and case applications of suitable assessment methods integrating data from direct surveys and catch-at-age estimates.