Study of impacts of environmental factors on stock and recruitment relationship of the anchovy stock in the Yellow Sea

Changes in fish year-class strength have been attributed to year-to-year variability in environmental conditions, such as sea surface temperature (SST) and phosphate concentration, and spawning stock biomass(SSB). In this study, we examined the relationship between environmental factors, SSB and recruitment for the anchovy (Engraulis japonicas) stock in the Yellow Sea using a traditional stock-recruitment Ricker model. The recruitment fluctuation of the anchovy stock in the Yellow Sea was successfully reproduced by the Ricker stock-recruitment model with environmental factors. The findings suggest that the impacts of SST and phosphate concentration observed at the Qianliyan Marine Environment Monitoring Station in the Yellow Sea on the anchovy stock in the Yellow Sea are very important.