No abstracts are to be cited without prior reference to the author.Several interdisciplinary surveys carried out in the Sicily Channel within the European Union projects MED96-052 and MED98-070 have evidenced the coupling between the hydrography and the spawning strategy of the Sicilian channel anchovy. The surface circulation is determined by the Atlantic Ionian Stream (AIS), the jet of modified Atlantic water entering the eastern Mediterranean basin. It describes a large cyclonic meander around the prominent topographic feature of Adventure Bank (off the western part of the island), then it impinges the shore accumulating warm water in the neighbourhood of Sciacca and it acts as a concentration mechanism. The anchovy egg distribution found during 1997, 1998 and 1999 indicate that this is the preferred site for anchovy to spawn. The anchovy larvae distribution is different, with the highest larval concentration located off Cape Passero, 200 km downstream of the main spawning ground. The estimated averaged age of this population, based on the length of the larvae, is 8 to 10 days, which matches the time it takes a larvae that has hatched from an egg spawned off Sciacca to get Cape Passero while advected by the AIS. This area appears to be the main nursery ground, a fact supported by the cyclonic circulation induced by the general circulation of the AIS, which provides enrichment mechanisms for larvae growth and feeding.