An application of satellite-derived sea surface temperature data to the skipjack (katsuwonus pelamis linnaeus, 1758) and albacore tuna (thunnus alalunga bonaterre, 1788) fisheries in the north-east atlantic

Abstract

In April-December 1989, June 1990 and July-October (1990-92), AVHRR/NOAA scenes from the north-east Atlantic (10-50 degrees N and 0-30 degrees W) and Mediterranean Alboran Sea were processed. The objective was to study the relationships between the upper ocean dynamics (synoptic and mesoscale fronts and vorticity) with skipjack tuna (Katsuwonus pelamis Linnaeus, 1758) and albacore tuna (Thunnus alalunga Bonaterre, 1788) fishing ground locations by satellite-derived sea surface temperature (SST) maps and in situ data sets. Results show an analogy between the bioecological responses of both species to the large (SST seasonal drifts) and small-scale oceanographic events (eddy fields), as a consequence of their similar physiological response to all the anomalies at sea.