Generalized additive models (GAMs) were fitted to sardine (Sardina pilchardus) egg distribution data from three daily egg production method surveys. The results showed that the area of egg cover off Portugal decreased significantly from 11 800 km2 in 1988 to 7000 km2 in 1997 and 7400 km2 in 1999. This is because of a significant reduction in sardine egg presence off northern Portugal, GAM estimated areas being similar or higher in the late 1990s for southwestern and southern Portugal. The distributional area covered by larvae was not estimated for 1988 (larval distribution extended beyond the survey area), although it was probably higher than the 9600 km2 for 1997 and 5500 km2 for 1999. In 1997 and 1999, the Gulf of Cadiz was also sampled, indicating extensive areas with sardine eggs and larvae (more than 50% of the total area of distribution off Portugal). Standardized data from 15 ichthyoplankton surveys between 1985 and 2000 show a decline in the mean probability of egg presence within the Portuguese continental shelf from the mid‐1980s to the late‐1990s, because of a marked reduction in egg presence off northern Portugal. Sardine larval data from the same surveys suggest that the reduction in mean probability of presence in the north is less marked than for eggs (although this comparison ignores the presence of sardine larvae beyond the continental shelf in the 1980s). Similar changes off northern Portugal and western Galicia are observed in commercial sardine catches and the acoustically estimated area of fish distribution. It is possible that the observed decline in spawning area off northwestern Iberia during the 1990s is indirectly reflecting the prevalence of environmental conditions detrimental to sardine recruitment (northerly winds during winter that favour coastal upwelling and offshore transport), which have reduced the spawning contribution of young fish in that area.

SUMMARY: Decadal changes have been observed in the annual catch of sardine (Sardina pilchardus W). Long-term changes have also been observed in alongshore winds off Portugal in the last decades in winter months. During sardine spawning season (winter), northerly winds that favour upwelling led to unfavourable conditions for egg and larval survival. By using time series analysis, we investigated the effect of wind conditions and North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) on the sardine catches, in the period from 1946-1991. We also investigated the time lag between recruitment strength and its turnout in catches. We concluded that recruitment is forced to a lower level when the frequency and intensity of northerly wind exceeds a certain limit in winter. Our time series retrospective analyses led to evidence of climatic driven regime-shifts in West Portugal sardine productivity in late 1960s-early 1970s. These results are discussed in terms of their implications in fisheries management plans.