Two subspecies of the European anchovy Engraulis encrasicolus are present in the Black Sea: E. encrasicolus ponticus in the Black Sea proper and E. encrasicolus maeticus in the Azov Sea (Chashchin et al. 2015). Currently, European anchovy in the Black Sea proper forms a single population based on genetic data (Ivanova and Dobrovolov 2006)(Bouchenak-Khelladi et al. 2008)(Öztürk et al. 2011)(Keski˙n and Atar 2012), but although the two subspecies spawn in their respective seas there is some mixing of catches as the Azov anchovy has expanded southwards, most probably due to increased biomass in the Azov Sea (Chashchin et al. 2015)(Gücü, Ali Cemal 2015)(Akkuş and Üstündağ 2022). A third sub-group is considered to exist, a non-migrating population in the southern area of the Black Sea (GFCM 2022)​. However, as for the assessment, it is assumed that there is only one population exposed to the fishery (Akkuş and Üstündağ 2022)(GFCM 2022).