Validation of integrated potential fishing zone (IPFZ) forecast using satellite based chlorophyll and sea surface temperature along the east coast of India

Abstract

An attempt was made with regards to the application of satellite‐derived sea surface temperature (SST) and chlorophyll together in assisting the fishing industry located along the east coast of India. Information on features such as fronts, eddies, gyres, currents and upwelling derived from satellites is useful in fisheries, since fishes usually congregate in these areas for feeding. SST and chlorophyll concentration are retrieved from NOAA–AVHRR (NOAA–advanced very high‐resolution radiometer) and IRS‐P4 OCM (OCM–ocean colour monitor) sensor respectively. Features are extracted from the SST and chlorophyll retrievals and these features are transferred onto a scaled base map called an ‘integrated potential fishing zone (IPFZ)’ map. Fishery Survey of India (FSI) fishing vessels of Visakhapatnam base were used to validate the suggested IPFZs. This exercise was conducted during November 2002, March, April and December 2003 and January 2004. The feedback in terms of categorized fish catch per unit effort (CPUE, total catch divided by actual fishing hours) along with location information obtained from FSI, Visakhapatnam has been incorporated in the IPFZ image. The catch per unit effort (CPUE) is computed taking total catch divided by actual fishing hours. The validation shows that the CPUE is high in the IPFZ areas compared with surroundings. In most of the cases, except January 2004, more than an order increase in fish catch is observed in the IPFZ notified areas along east coast of India. A marginal increase is observed in the suggested IPFZ areas during January 2004.