A remote sensing approach to monitor potential fishing zone associated with sea surface temperature and chlorophyll concentration

Abstract

India is the biggest seafood producing country in the world, and its economy relies, to a large extent, on fish production. Recent technologies in the remote sensing field enabled the gathering of information about the Sea Surface Temperature (SST) and Chlorophyll Concentration (CC) are used for analyzing the Potential Fishing Zone (PFZ). We used Landsat 8 images to create the base map of the Thoothukudi coastline. MODIS-AQUA satellite data were used to derive the SST and Chlorophyll-a for the Thoothukudi coast (Bay of Bengal) for the years 2013 to 2017, for the month of June. PFZ was classified into three classes: High PFZ, Medium PFZ, and Low PFZ. Results shows 2015 has highest PFZ found in the region of Sippikulam and Vembar. During 2016, PFZ identified at Kayalpattinam, Tiruchendur, and Manapad regions. The PFZ level was low during 2017 compared to the previous years. The PFZ has increased in the international maritime boundary line, which forced the fishermen to cross the territorial boundary. This study provides valuable information about fish catching areas to the fishermen and local populations, by reducing fish search time by 30 to 70 %, and consequently the fuel cost and human efforts. Additionally, also reduces the need of crossing the international maritime boundary line.