Abstract
Sea surface temperature (SST) and salinity (SSS) are essential variables at the ocean and atmosphere interface when considering risk factors for disease in farmed and wild fish stocks. Ecological research has witnessed a recent trend in use of digital and satellite technologies, including remote-sensing tools. We explored spatial coverage of remotely-sensed SST and SSS data and compared them with in situ measurements of water temperatures and salinity, which led to suggested adjustments to the remotely-sensed data for its use in aquaculture research. The in situ data were from farms and wild surveillance sites in coastal British Columbia, Canada, from 2003 to 2016. Concurrent SST and SSS values were extracted from remotely-sensed products and compared with 20,513 and 20,038 in situ records for water temperature and salinity, respectively, from 232 different sites. Among nine SST products evaluated, the UKMO OSTIA SST (UK Meteorological Office) had the highest retrieval, and highest concordance correlation coefficient (0.86), highest index of agreement (0.93), fewest missing values, and smallest mean and SD values for bias, when compared to in situ measurements. A mixed linear regression model with UKMO OSTIA SST as the predictor for in situ measurements estimated an adjustment coefficient of 0.89 °C for UKMO OSTIA SST. None of the three SSS products evaluated provided appropriate corresponding values for in situ sites, suggesting that spatial coverage for the study area is currently lacking. This study demonstrates that, among SST products, UKMO OSTIA SST is currently best suited for aquaculture studies in coastal BC. The near real-time availability of these data with the estimated adjustment would allow their use in forecast models, surveillance of pathogens, and the creation of risk maps.
Highlights
Maritime aquaculture activities are affected by oceanographic properties that regulate physical and biogeochemical processes throughout the ecosystem
Due to many days of cloud cover and the fact that some sites (32, mostly wild surveillance sites) were beyond the satellite coverage area, a smaller number of matched observations was available for comparison for the Sea surface temperature (SST) products
To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to utilize existing in situ data from fish farms and wild surveillance programs to assess the suitability of RS SST and sea surface salinity (SSS) products
Summary
Maritime aquaculture activities are affected by oceanographic properties that regulate physical and biogeochemical processes throughout the ecosystem. Critical environmental variables such as water temperature, salinity, and oxygen influence fish bioenergetics, health, and reproduction, and can affect interactions between farmed and wild fish, as well as other ecosystem functions. There is a need for broad-scale oceanographic data to support assessment and management of stocking density, farm-fallow cycles, and fish health These data are critical for establishing the initial and boundary conditions of ecosystem models used for ecosystembased management, allowing assessment of ecological carrying capacity and environmental effects (Filgueira et al, 2013). RS tools may contribute to sustainable blue growth in the aquaculture sector by providing observation-based evidence in support of decisions for monitoring and mitigating diseases, and in adapting to changes associated with warming oceans (Santos, 2000; Zagaglia et al, 2004; Williams et al, 2010; Bojinski et al, 2014)
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