Identifying mature fish aggregation areas during spawning season by combining catch declarations and scientific survey data

Identifying and protecting essential fish habitats like spawning grounds requires an accurate knowledge of spatio-temporal distribution. Commercial declarations coupled with Vessel Monitoring System provide fine scale information on the full year to map distribution identify habitats. We developed integrated framework infer spatial a monthly time step by combining scientific commercial data while explicitly considering preferential sampling fisher towards areas higher biomass. method persistent aggregation biomass during season interpret these as areas. The model is applied maps relative for three species (sole, whiting squids) in Bay Biscay over 9 period. Integrating several fleets inference provides good coverage area improves predictions. parameters give insights into temporal dynamics targeting behavior different fleets. Last, reveal consistent available literature grounds, highlighting potential our approach reproduction