Sea surface temperature fronts affect distribution of Pacific saury (Cololabis saira) in the Northwestern Pacific Ocean

Pacific saury (Cololabis saira) is an important fisheries resource and commercial species of Taiwanese deep-sea saury stick-held dip net fishery in the Northwestern Pacific Ocean. In this study, the logbook data of a 3-year (2006–2008) Taiwanese Pacific saury fishery and corresponding satellite-derived MODIS sea surface temperature (SST) data were analyzed to detect SST fronts and examine their influence on the spatio-temporal distribution of Pacific saury. The fronts were identified by the Cayula–Cornillon single-image edge detection algorithm. The results show that low frequency of SST fronts is associated with lower CPUEs during the early fishing season (June–August), while high frequency of SST fronts is associated with higher CPUEs during the peak fishing season. When fishing locations of Pacific saury are close to the SST fronts, higher CPUEs are observed. Results of this study provide a better understanding of how SST fronts influence distribution of Pacific saury and improve the basis of fishing ground forecasting.