Spatial information extraction of fishing grounds for light purse seine vessels in the Northwest Pacific Ocean based on AIS data

Abstract

Ecological fishery management requires high-precision fishery information to support resource management and marine spatial planning. In this paper, the Automatic Identification System (AIS) was adopted to extract the spatial information on the fishing grounds of light purse seine vessels in the Northwest Pacific Ocean. The spatial distributions of fishing grounds mapped by the data mining, kernel density analysis and hotspot analysis methods were compared. The spatial similarity index was applied to determine the spatial consistency between the computed spatial information and fisheries resource information. Finally, the spatial information derived by the best method was used to investigate the characteristics of fishing activity. The results showed that: the speed of light purse seine vessels related to operations was lower than 1.6 knots. The spatial information extracted by the three methods was consistent with the catch data distribution, and the spatial similarity between the fishing effort and catch data was the highest. The spatial variation in fishing activity was similar to that in the chub mackerel migration route. AIS data could be used to provide high-resolution fishery information. Light purse seine fishing vessels typically operate and travel along the exclusive economic zone boundary, and increased attention must be given to fishing vessel operation supervision. A comprehensive supervision system can be employed to monitor the operations of fishing vessels more effectively. The results of this study can provide technical support for the management of fishing activities and conservation of marine resources in this region using AIS data.