Seasonal trends in the fishery resources off Gujarat: Salient observation using NOAA AVHRR

Abstract

Thermal features delineated on the sea surface temperature (SST) images were used as a tracer to select probable fishing grounds. This paper deals with the steps involved in fishery forecast like generation of SST images, identification of potential grounds/s, dissemination and some results based on the analysis of feed-back received from the Fisheries Terminal Division (FTD), Veraval, Gujarat State, India. Catch per unit effort (CPUE) was computed for three commercially important species i.e. prawns, squids, ribbon fish. The CPUE was also compared with features representing the prevailing hydrographic condition observed on the SST image/s. An interannual comparison showed a distinct pattern of high and low during various seasons. An increase of about 38% in notified ground i.e. area of forecast, was observed as compared to unnotified ground.