Fréon Pierre auteur aut IRD Cury Philippe auteur aut IRD Shannon L. auteur aut IRD Roy Claude auteur aut IRD text journalArticle eng text/pdf reformatted digital access Small pelagic fish contribute up to 50% of the total landing of marine species. They are most abundant in upwelling areas and contribute to food security. Exploited stocks of these species are prone to large interannual and interdecadal variation of abundance as well as to collapse. We discuss why small pelagic fish and fisheries are so "special" with regard to their biology, ecology, and behavior. Two adjectives can sum up the characteristics of pelagic species: variability and instability. Analyses of the relationships between small pelagic fish and their physical environment at different time-scales illustrate the complexity of the interplay between exploitation and environmental impacts. How small pelagic fish species are positioned and related within the trophic web suggests that these species play a central role in the functioning and dynamics of upwelling ecosystems. Finally, we discuss the sustainable exploitation of small pelagic fisheries through appropriate management, focusing on the resilience to exploitation, a comparison of different management options and regulatory mechanisms. We recommend that statistical, socio-economical, and political merits of a proposed two-level (short- and long-term) management strategy be undertaken. specialized 040 76 2 385-462 2005 0007-4977 https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/PAR00000210 0007-4977 [F B010041541] https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/PAR00000210 https://horizon.documentation.ird.fr/exl-doc/pleins_textes/divers19-11/010041541.pdf IRD - Base Horizon / Pleins textes 2006-03-29 2019-12-16 PAR00000210 fre