Fisheries research, management and the market place:

Linking environmental data and recreational anglers to help understand fish distribution and habitat preference

Carrie WallUniversity of South Florida College of Marine Science

Institute forMarine Remote Sensing

http://veimages.gsfc.nasa.gov/174/BlueMarble.jpg

http://imars.usf.edu

Objective

Show the utility of routinely using satellite derived oceanographic data to understand coastal circulation and for fisheries management

Determine the influence of the ocean environment on the distribution and catch rate of king mackerel (Scomberomorus cavalla)

http://la.climatologie.free.fr/lexique.htm

Recreational King Mackerel Tournaments

• What pass did you leave from? • What time? • Where did you start fishing?

• What time did you start? • What method of fishing was used? Troll? Anchor? Drift?

• Number of fishing lines?

• Number of fish hooked?

• Number of fish caught?

• Were bait fish present?

• Did you see kingfish?

• What time did you stop?

• Did you fish anywhere else?

• Did you run to next site?

Fisheries – SurveyWhere are the fish?

Spring and fall 2004 to 2005

22 tournaments

666 interviews conducted

2,008 kingfish reported

792 fishing locations

King Mackerel Catch Data

Spring and fall 2004 to 2005

19 tournaments

415 interviews conducted

1,599 kingfish reported

579 fishing locations

Compared to: oceanographic data from satellites meteorological data from buoys

Remote Sensing Sea Surface Temperature

– AVHRR + MODIS

Chlorophyll concentrations – MODIS + SeaWiFS

• Proxy for available biomass

Water-leaving radiance at 443 nm– MODIS + SeaWiFS

• Water clarity index

Fluorescence Line Height– MODIS

• Red tide

84°W

84°W

83°W

83°W

82°W

82°W

26°N 26°N

27°N 27°N

28°N 28°N

29°N 29°N

Tampa Bay

CharlotteHarbor

0 10050 Kilometers

Frontal Detection

Adapted 2 automated frontal detection algorithms– Cayula and Cornillon

(1992)• SST

• Water clarity

• Fluorescence line height

– Canny Method (1986)• Chlorophyll concentration

Deg C25

17

Sea Surface Temperature (SST)9 April 2005

0.15

0.01

mW cm-2

µm-1 sr-1

Fall 2005 and Red Tide Decreased catch

– Spring 2004: 444– Fall 2004: 818– Spring 2005: 538– Fall 2005: 208

Decreased observance of baitfish– Spring 2004: 54%– Fall 2004: 54%– Spring 2005: 51%– Fall 2005: 38%

Decreased water clarityFLH fronts

November 12, 2005

Tampa Bay

Conclusions

Data from satellites and anglers successfully used to link environmental conditions to daily fisheries distribution

High variability within fisheries data

Continue to strengthen link between scientists and fisheries community

ImplicationsWorking together towards sustainable fisheriesWorking together towards sustainable fisheries

Increased trust of the fishing community will yield more accurate and reliable data leading to better management policies

Better managed fish stocks will lead to a sustainable ecosystem ensuring the health of the fisheries

Acknowledgements• NASA grant # NNGO4GF13G; The Old Salt Marine Biology Scholarship courtesy

of Florida Sea Grant, the Old Salt Fishing Foundation, and the Alyesworth Foundation for the Advancement of Marine Sciences, Inc. and the USF Paul L.

Getting Memorial Fellowship

•SCOR for supporting my nomination to attend ICSU

• Southern Kingfish Association (Jack and Deona Holmes), The Old Salt Fishing Foundation (Tom Verdensky and Jill Foraker), the Alyesworth Foundation (Bob and

Dawn Alyesworth), Treasure Island Charities (Doyce Mathis), and Billy’s Stone Crab Restaurant (Billy Moore and Steve Fennell)

• Dozens of friends and colleagues who assisted in the tournament data collection, the hundreds of anglers who disclosed the intimate details of their fishing activity,

and the thousands of king mackerel who unknowingly bit the “wrong” bait