Small pelagic fish sampling programme 2020/21 - Fisheries Science Partnership dataset https://portal.medin.org.uk/portal/start.php?tpc=009_CEFASc87018bd-8629-4ac8-8307-2f9c61179334 This work is a collaboration between industry and scientists carried out as part of the Fisheries Science Partnership (FSP) programme. The primary objective of the programme is to improve the data collection on sprat and sardine in the South west of England in support of the stock assessment, by means of the continuation of a self-sampling programme which was first initiated through collaboration between the fishing industry (the Cornish Sardine Management Association (CSMA), fish processors and fishers) and Cefas focusing on the sardine resource in 2017-2018. After the success of the first year, the sardine self-sampling programme was continued in 2018-2019 and expanded to the sprat fishery. An industry-led acoustic mini survey for sprat (focused in Lyme Bay area) was carried out to determine if the Cefas Pelagic fish and Ecosystem survey in the Eastern Celtic Sea (Peltic) was underestimating biomass for small pelagics in the shallow coastal waters. In 2019-20, although the focus of the FSP project was on sprat, support for the third season of self-sampling by the sardine fishery was continued. Ultimately, the main aim is that the self-sampling programme for both the sprat and sardine fisheries can run autonomously and will (continue to) contribute reliable fisheries dependent data to the assessment process for both stocks. This year (2020-21) new technology was added to the fourth self-sampling season for sardine, and the third season for the sprat fishery. The first technological innovation added to the programme was the development of a phone app in collaboration with the company Applied Satellite Technology (AST; `www.theastgroup.com/uk`_) which would facilitate the data collection and submission aboard the participating fishing vessels. The second innovation was the installation of temperature and pressure tags (sensors) onboard the fishing vessels, to acquire data on the environmental conditions in which they operate. This was a question suggested by the industry to improve understanding of seasonal dynamics and behaviour of the relevant pelagic fish populations. The steps towards the digitalization of the programme were intended to be the final steps toward the programme running autonomously, with the minimal Cefas intervention. The available time series for both sprat and sardine length data from the fishery were of relevance this year as they were important in the stock assessment review, being used for the inter-benchmark for sprat in ICES division 7de (ICES) and the first full benchmark for sardine in division 7. .. _`www.theastgroup.com/uk`: http://www.theastgroup.com/uk 20220815 20220117