Modelling seasonal environmental preferences of tropical tuna purse seine fisheries in the Mozambique Channel

The spatial-temporal environmental preferences and biomass aggregation of tropical tuna from purse seine fishery in the Mozambique Channel (MZC) have barely been investigated. In this study, tuna biomass volume from Fish Aggregating Devices (FADs) and Free-Swimming Schools (FSC), collected by Spanish fishing logbooks during 2003–2013, were modelled separately as a function of a set of oceanographic variables (sea surface temperature, sea surface height, geostrophic currents, salinity, and chlorophyll-a) using Generalized Additive Models (GAMs). Temporal variables (natural day, month and year), and spatial variables (latitude and longitude) were included in the models to account for the spatio-temporal structure of dynamic biomass of tropical tuna volume gathering. Oceanographic, temporal and spatial effects on aggregated catches differed between fishing modes, even though some common aspects appeared along the area and the period of study. Fishable patches of tuna biomass accumulation were explained by sea surface temperature, productivity, sea surface height, geostrophic currents, and apart from the spatio-temporal variables interactions. Although the models predicted slight differences for tuna fishing spots preferences, both fishing modes partially overlapped. Goodness of fit for selected variables showed that models were able to predict tuna catches assembled patterns in the MZC reasonably well. These results highlight a connection between the biophysical state of the oceans and purse seine tuna catches in the MZC, and ultimately may contribute to the scientific advice for the appropriate management and conservation of the exploited resources by purse seine fleets in the area of MZC.1,58