Peche de l'anchois (Engraulis encrasicholus ) dans le golfe de Gascogne et sur le littoral atlantique de Galice depuis 1920. Variations quantitatives.

Using the fishing records from the most relevant ports of the Cantabrian and Galician coasts, th history of the anchovy (Engraulis encrasicholus ) fishery in this area is reconstituted. The crisis observed and the variations in the fishing areas throughout the time are analyzed. An estimation of the age classes composition in the catches founded on commercial classification data can be made. The hypothesis of existence of a core population in the Southern part of the Bay of Biscay is presented and that only under certain advantageous condition the expansion of this species throughout all the Cantabrian Sea was possible.