Examination of long-term climatic and fish-catch indicators in India at a macro scale

Abstract

The quantification of trends and attributes helps in better understanding of the long-term changes in the marine ecosystem. Marine fish-catch was analysed using the statistical data provided by the Central Marine fisheries Research Institute, India. These datasets are used internationally to assess changes in marine fisheries along the coasts of India. In addition the data from the Indian Meteorological Department were used to derive temporal trends of cyclonic indicators such as the Frequency and, Intensity of cyclones. Trend analysis of fishery-based data indicated a significant rise in fish-catch across the NIO basin. The sea surface temperature has reported a significant rise in the past 2 decades, reaching peaks during the months from March to October. There is a reduction in the overall frequency of cyclonic events, with a significant increase in extreme cyclonic events. The normal distribution curve also reports a shift towards a positive direction in the case of SST and fish-catch, while the negative shift is obtained for the frequency of cyclones as well as the intensity of depression between the time-period of 1950-99 to 2000-18. The influence of global warming induced climate change can be observed within these trends.