Satellite measurements of ocean color, temperature help researchers predict sturgeon locations
Researchers at the University of Delaware are one step closer to developing an online map that would help Mid-Atlantic fishermen avoid catching Atlantic sturgeon.
The research team, led by Matthew J. Oliver, Patricia and Charles Robertson Professor of Marine Science and Policy, found they could make useful predictions about sturgeon locations using satellite measurements of ocean color and temperature. They reported their findings Feb. 3 in the journal Methods in Ecology and Evolution.
The researchers believe this to be an important step toward helping both fishermen and the vulnerable fish. If they can reliably predict where sturgeon or other "species of concern" are congregating or migrating, they can relay this information to fishermen through a daily fishing forecast, similar to a weather forecast.
Fishermen sometimes accidentally catch sturgeon while targeting other species. Known as bycatch, this occurrence affects the species and can impact a fisherman's allowable catch of other fish.
"This gets us closer to using habitat preferences as a guide to help fishermen be successful while reducing harm to non-target species," said the paper's lead author, Matthew Breece, a doctoral candidate in UD's School of Marine Science and Policy, which is housed in the College of Earth, Ocean, and Environment. "It's surprisingly accurate, and we see a lot of options for making it even better."
Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2016-02-satellite-ocean-temperature-sturgeon.html#jCp
