Fishing areas characterisation using the SIMOcean platform

Abstract

In this study, the relationships between sea surface temperature (SST), chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) concentration and catch locations of sardine (Sardina pilchardus) and Atlantic chub mackerel (Scomber colias) were explored using satellite-derived SST and Chl-a together with fishing activity data for the southern and southwestern Portuguese coasts for the period January 2014 to December 2015. Chl-a and SST conditions linked with high catches differed between sardine and chub mackerel. On the southwestern Portuguese coast, sardine catches were highest for SST ranging from 16 °C to 20 °C and Chl-a concentration below 4 mg m−3, while high chub mackerel catches were associated with a broader range of SST values (15–21 °C) and lower values of Chl-a (<2 mg m−3). On the south coast, both species had high catches for a broad range of SST conditions (14–22 °C for sardine and 12–24 °C for chub mackerel) and low Chl-a concentrations (<2.5 mg m−3 for sardine and <1.5 mg m−3 for chub mackerel). Daily presence–absence maps based on these intervals are part of the System for Integrated Monitoring of the Ocean platform.

Keywords

• fisheries
• chlorophyll-a
• sea surface temperature