Monsoonal effects on the seabream fishery of the western North Pacific: A study toward seabream sustainability

Abstract

The western North Pacific supports important commercial fish species that make a large contribution to the world seafood supply. The two monsoon seasons significantly influence western North Pacific oceanography, affecting ocean currents, sea surface temperatures, and other processes that affect marine ecosystems and the productivity of fisheries. Our research evaluated the influence of the monsoon seasons on the western North Pacific seabream (family Sparidae) fishery using a machine learning approach to examine how six seabream species reacted to different oceanographic conditions. The results indicated that these species preferred higher mean sea surface and sea bottom temperatures during southwest monsoons than during the northeast monsoons but preferred greater mean sea surface chlorophyll concentrations and mean salinities during the Northeast monsoons than during the Southwest monsoons. During both monsoon seasons, the seabream catches in the southern part of the study area were consistently greater than those in other areas. This study provides useful information that can be used in support of sustainable fisheries by contributing to a better understanding of how oceanographic conditions affect marine ecosystems and fish populations.