The Scientific Vessel Dra. Barbieri set sail from Valparaíso for the Aysén region to study the southern sardine, the common sardine, and the anchovy
April 1st, 2025
On March 17, the Scientific Vessel Dra. Barbieri set sail from the Port of Valparaíso to conduct acoustic-fishing and oceanographic surveys to assess the biomass, using hydroacoustic methods, of small pelagic resources, the southern sardine, the common sardine, and the anchovy present in the inland waters of the Aysén region of General Carlos Ibáñez del Campo.
The cruise leader is Javier Legua and the vessel’s captain is Jorge Acevedo. They, along with a team of 17 professionals, technicians, and the vessel’s crew, will tour the Aysén region to collect data that will allow them to meet the objectives and expected results of the project, which was commissioned by the IFOP by the Undersecretariat of Economy and Small Businesses and the Undersecretariat of Fisheries and Aquaculture.
The specific objectives of the study are:
- To conduct an acoustic survey in the study area to estimate the stock size of the southern sardine, common sardine, and anchovy resources, as well as their spatial distribution during the peak recruitment period.
- To conduct a fisheries survey to characterize and analyze, using biological indicators, the demographic composition and interannual variation of the assessed stocks.
- To conduct a bio-oceanographic survey to characterize and analyze the environmental conditions in the study area and period and their relationship with the spatial distribution of the resources.
Jorge Castillo, senior researcher at IFOP and project leader, discussed the expected results of this cruise, noting that the importance and relevance of this study lies in the fact that the estimates of species biomass and demographics are a fundamental element in stock modeling, which allows for establishing their status and defining the levels of resource exploitation required by the Undersecretariat of Fisheries and Aquaculture. The oceanographic information will allow for the characterization of the species’ environment, and will allow for historical monitoring of the physical environmental conditions and the food supply available to fisheries resources in the region. The results obtained from this cruise are added to the data series created since 2014. A similar study is also being conducted in the inland sea of the Los Lagos region during the same period. This will provide estimates of stock size and environmental characteristics in the Aysén and Los Lagos regions. It is noteworthy that the acoustic, oceanographic, and fishing equipment of the BC Dra. Barbieri meets the highest scientific standards required for this type of research, in addition to the facilities for preprocessing data on board, which facilitates and speeds up the delivery of final results to the requesting parties.
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