Tuna fish catch and variability of satellite derived ocean parameters in the South Java Sea during 1997-98 El Niño

Abstract

The South Java Sea (Fig. 1) has long been considered as an important area for tuna fisheries by the Japanese investigators. The productive pelagic fisheries in this area are sustained through enhanced biological production as a result of coastal upwelling under the influence of the regional monsoon wind. During El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) in the equatorial Pacific, warm waters shift to the coastal waters off Peru and disrupts the upwelling phenomena and that causes catastrophic decline in landings of Anchoveta (Engraulis ringens Jenyns)1). Studies on El Nino's impact on the eastern Pacific environment have been numerous2,3). However, very few studies have been conducted in the South Java Sea on the impact of El Nino on the fisheries. This study is aimed at understanding influence of spatio temporal variability of Sea Surface Temperature (SST) and Chlorophyll a (Chl-a) concentration on the tuna fish catch in the South Java Sea during 1997-1998 El Nino and 1999 non-El Nino years.