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Abstract

This study was conducted on a seasonal basis in five (5) stations along the central Algerian coast between April 2013 and April 2014 aboard professional fishing boats. Horizontal plankton tows with a WP2-type net were used to collect ichthyoplankton samples. At each station, temperature, salinity, and chlorophyll-a levels were measured. We identified the larvae of 18 species from 11 different families by sorting ichthyoplankton (Clupeidae, Engraulidae, Gobidae, Gonostomatidae, Mugilidae, Myctophidae, Scombridae, Sparidae, Carangidae, Labridae, Blennidae). Redundancy analysis (RDA) was used to determine the relationship between the abundance of harvested larvae and environmental variables. The results show a clear dominance of small pelagic larvae in the samples, particularly sardine larvae, horse mackerel, sardinella, and anchovy. For harvesting larvae, the main factors for seasonal changes were sea surface temperature and chlorophyll-a. To our knowledge, this is the first study to identify the ichthyoplankton species found in the central Algerian zone

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