Identifying the key factors influencing spatial and temporal variations of regional coastal fishing activities

Abstract

Fishing is one of the most pervasive human activities for harvesting natural resources. Accurate understanding of the dynamic variations of regional fishing activities and their influence mechanisms is crucial for marine conservation and fisheries management. Previous studies have described the spatio-temporal distribution of fishing operations. However, there is still a need for a comprehensive interpretation of why and how these variations occur, especially in regional coastal waters. In this study, taking the Bohai Sea and its adjacent waters as an example, the correlation between regional fishing activities and multiple factors, including the marine environment, geographical position, socio-economic conditions, and marine management policies, was investigated from the perspective of human geography. Automatic Identification System (AIS) data for fishing vessels were used, combining remote sensing, geographic information system (GIS), and statistical models. The results indicated that the spatio-temporal variations of regional coastal fishing activities were driven by complex interactions among these factors. Overall, the average explanatory power of socio-economic and geographical position factors on fishing activities was higher than that of marine environmental factors. The importance of the marine environment and geographical position for fishing activities varied throughout different seasons. The sensitivity of fishing activities to geographical position was relatively high, with the explained deviance exceeding 62% of the total explained deviance. Intensive fishing was primarily observed within a particular range of the sea surface temperature frontal gradient (0.20–0.60 °C/km) or sea surface chlorophyll-a frontal gradient (1.06–1.25). The spatial distribution of fishing activities is effectively constrained by implemented marine management policies. This study sheds new light on the key factors influencing regional fishing activities in coastal waters and highlights the complexity of their interaction effects. These findings can provide a theoretical basis for the restoration of fishery resources and marine fishing management.