Relationship between albacore (Thunnus alalunga) fishing grounds in the Western and Central Pacific and sea surface temperature

Abstract:

The albacore Thunnus alalunga longline fishery is one of the important fisheries in the Pacific Ocean. According to the public domain catch and effort data of longline fishery from Western Central Pacific Fisheries Commission and the sea surface temperature data from NOAA, the distribution of albacore longline fishery grounds from 2008 to 2010 and its relationship with SST were analysed quantitatively or qualitatively. The results showed that the fishing grounds in which albacore's numbers accounted for over 80% were mainly located in the areas of 15°N-40°N and 10°S-45°S, while high CPUE fishing grounds were in 25°N-40°N and 10°S-40°S. In Northern Hemisphere summer the fishing grounds were distributed mainly in South Pacific while in winter mainly in the North. The distributions in the three years were similar. The numbers of high CPUE fishing grounds of North Pacific in 2009 and South Pacific in 2010 reduced substantially compared to the other two years respectively. The analysis of the relationship between CPUE and SST indicated that the monthly SST of the albacore tuna longline fishing grounds is 16-22℃ in North Pacific and 16-24℃ and around 26℃ in South Pacific.