Spatio-temporal distributions of tuna species and potential habitats in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean derived from multi-satellite data

Abstract

In this study, potential tuna habitats in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean (WCPO) area from 1998 to 2005 were identified using a combination of multi-satellite oceanographic data related to sea-surface temperature (SST), chlorophyll-a concentration (Chl-a) and sea-surface height anomaly (SSHA). Histogram analyses of tuna catch per unit effort (CPUE) by the Taiwanese purse seine fishery in relation to the satellite oceanographic data were used to determine tuna's preferred ranges of the three satellite-derived oceanographic parameters. The highest CPUE corresponded to areas where SST ranged from 29.0–29.5°C, Chl-a ranged from 0.0–0.1 mg m−3 and SSHA ranged from 0.0–5.0 cm. Local areas within the WCPO with similar satellite-derived oceanographic parameters were assumed to be potential tuna habitat, and a spatially explicit model was developed to determine their locations. It was found that the potential tuna habitats were distributed in warm pools, in the vicinity of the western cold tongue in the equatorial Pacific. Consequently, by using these potential habitats, tuna-fishery management and protection of habitats of tuna species can be improved, and these can possibly form the basis of fishing-ground forecasting in the future.