Aerospatial remote sensing as catalyst of an operational marine fishery (halieutic) science

Abstract

A brief balance of the attainments and limits in the modern halieutic (fishery biology and economy) field is stricken and shows off the gap between the present management structure and the present problems. The surface tuna fishery case is thoroughly studied, considering its specificity and its economical importance. From there, it appears that conclusive strides will be made by halieutic science through the knowledge of the relationship between tuna and its environment. Some tuna environment studies are presented through typical remote sensing examples and introduce the basis of a coherent theory of tuna behaviour which can be schematically summarized by this basic general hypothesis; namely, that if tuna are present in a zone they will be inclined to aggregate close to any anomalies (gradients) of parameters in their environmental sensing field. From there, several models are presented in order to assess or forecast surface tuna stocks. A second part analyses the potential and contribution of the aerospatial remote sensing in the halieutic field through several original examples which point out clearly that this technique is one of the only tools able to visualize some essential concepts in oceanography and halieutic science. Last, we propose a study in several countries within the framework of several activities to integrate remote sensing tools in the fishery management structure, and to establish the data acquisition system in remote sensing satellites. From this study, a true operational halieutic field can be created.