After the 2001 exchange programme and the 2002 workshop made within PELASSES project, it was considered the convenience of organizing an exchange programme of anchovy otoliths during 2005, in order to ascertain the current level of precision among institutes and the difficulties that the age reading of anchovy otoliths may still present. In addition, in the Ostende meeting (1-4 March 2005) of the ICES Planning Group on Commercial Catch, Discards and Biological Sampling (PGCCDBS) (ICES CM 2005/ACFM:15) it was agreed (section for Planning of future age-reading workshops) to carry out exchange programmes for otolith reading for anchovy in 2005 and a workshop in 2006 (in Spain).

To that purpose an exchange programme of anchovy otoliths was organized in 2005 between AZTI, IEO, IFREMER, coordinated by the former institute. The results of this exchange programme will be discussed and serve as a starting point for the organisation of a small workshop on anchovy age determination in this year 2006.

This paper presents the results of the exchange programme on anchovy otoliths coordinated by AZTI from January to July 2005.