Changes to vertical thermoregulatory movements of juvenile bigeye tuna (Thunnus obesus) in the northwestern Pacific Ocean with time of day,seasonal ocean vertical thermal structure,and body size

Vertical movements related to the thermoregulation were investigated in 12 juvenile bigeye tuna (Thunnus obesus) in Japanese waters using archival tag data. Movements changed with time of day, season, and body size. During daytime, bigeye tuna descended to greater depths, presumably to feed in the deep scattering layer (DSL). Thereafter, they repeatedly ascended to shallower layers, suggesting attempts at behavioral thermoregulation, although the beginning of vertical thermoregulatory ascents might reflect a shift in DSL depth. By the end of such movement, the whole‐body heat‐transfer coefficient might decrease because, although the depth and ambient temperature of the upper layers did not change, the body temperature gradually decreased significantly just after ascent for thermoregulation. Seasonal patterns indicated that the vertical thermal structure of the ocean might influence this ascent behavior. For example, from January to May, bigeye tuna made fewer ascents to less shallow waters, suggesting that they respond to increasing depths of the mixed surface layer by reducing energy expenditure during vertical migration. In addition, as body size increased, fewer thermoregulatory ascents were required to maintain body temperature, and fish remained deeper for longer periods. Thus, vertical thermoregulatory movements might change with body size as bigeye tuna develop better endothermic and thermoregulatory abilities. We hypothesize that bigeye might also increase cold tolerance as they grow, possibly due to ontogenetic shifts in cardiac function.     

Vertical movements of bigeye tuna (Thunnus obesus) associated with islands, buoys, and seamounts near the main Hawaiian Islands from archival tagging data

To learn more about the movement patterns of bigeye tuna (Thunnus obesus), we deployed archival tags on 87 fish ranging in fork length from 50 to 154 cm. Thirteen fish were recaptured, from which 11 archival tags were returned, representing in aggregate 943 days‐at‐liberty. We successfully retrieved data from 10 tags, representing 474 days in aggregate. The largest fish recaptured was 44.5 kg [131 cm fork length (FL)] and the smallest 2.8 kg (52 cm). The deepest descent recorded was 817 m, the coldest temperature visited 4.7°C, and minimum oxygen level reached ～1 mL L^?1. Fish spent little time at depths where water temperatures were below 7°C and oxygen levels less than ～2 mL L^?1. Five fish were recaptured near the offshore weather buoy where they were tagged. Based on vertical movement patterns, it appeared that all stayed immediately associated with the buoy for up to 34 days. During this time they remained primarily in the uniform temperature surface layer (i.e. above 100 m). In contrast, fish not associated with a floating object showed the W‐shaped vertical movement patterns during the day characteristic of bigeye tuna (i.e. descending to ～300–500 m and then returning regularly to the surface layer). Four fish were tagged and subsequently recaptured near Cross Seamount up to 76 days later. These fish exhibited vertical movement patterns similar to, but less regular than, those of fish not associated with any structure. Bigeye tuna appear to follow the diel vertical movements of the deep sound scattering layer (SSL) organisms and thus to exploit them effectively as a prey resource. Average night‐time depth was correlated with lunar illumination, a behaviour which mimics movements of the SSL.     

Do habitat models accurately predict the depth distribution of pelagic fishes?

Habitat models are used to correct estimates of fish abundance derived from pelagic longline fishing gear. They combine information on hook depth with the species’ preferences for ambient environmental conditions to adjust the gear's catchability. We compare depth distributions of bigeye tuna (Thunnus obesus) catch predicted by a habitat model with distributions derived from data collected by observers on longliners in the tropical Pacific Ocean. Our analyses show that the habitat model does not accurately predict the depth distribution of bigeye tuna; its predictions are worse than those from models that assume no effect of depth on catches. Statistical models provided superior fits to the observed depth distribution. The poor performance of the habitat model is probably due to (1) problems in estimating hook depth, (2) fine‐scale variations in environmental conditions, (3) incomplete knowledge of habitat preferences and (4) differences between the distribution of bigeye tuna and their vulnerability to longline gear.     

Comparison of the behavior of skipjack (Katsuwonus pelamis), yellowfin (Thunnus albacares) and bigeye (T. obesus) tuna associated with drifting FADs in the equatorial central Pacific Ocean

We evaluated the behavior of skipjack (Katsuwonus pelamis), yellowfin (Thunnus albacares) and bigeye tuna (T. obesus) associated with drifting fish aggregating devices (FADs) in the equatorial central Pacific Ocean. A total of 30 skipjack [34.5–65.0 cm in fork length (FL)], 43 yellowfin (31.6–93.5 cm FL) and 32 bigeye tuna (33.5–85.5 cm FL) were tagged with coded transmitters and released near two drifting FADs. At one of the two FADs, we successfully monitored the behavior of all three species simultaneously. Several individuals remained around the same FAD for 10 or more days. Occasional excursions from the FAD were observed for all three species, some of which occurred concurrently for multiple individuals. The detection rate was higher during the daytime than the nighttime for all the species, and the detection rate for bigeye tuna was higher than for yellowfin or skipjack tuna. The swimming depth was deeper during the daytime than nighttime for all species. The fish usually remained shallower than 100 m, but occasionally dived to around 150 m or deeper, most often for bigeye and yellowfin tuna during the daytime. The swimming depth for skipjack tuna was shallower than that for bigeye and yellowfin tuna, although the difference was not large, and is probably not sufficient to allow the selective harvest of skipjack and yellowfin tuna by the purse seine fishery. From the detection rate of the signals, bigeye tuna is considered to be more vulnerable to the FAD sets than yellowfin and skipjack tuna.     

Application of a habitat-based model to estimate effective longline fishing effort and relative abundance of Pacific bigeye tuna (Thunnus obesus)

A new habitat‐based model is developed to improve estimates of relative abundance of Pacific bigeye tuna (Thunnus obesus). The model provides estimates of `effective' longline effort and therefore better estimates of catch‐per‐unit‐of‐effort (CPUE) by incorporating information on the variation in longline fishing depth and depth of bigeye tuna preferred habitat. The essential elements in the model are: (1) estimation of the depth distribution of the longline gear, using information on gear configuration and ocean currents; (2) estimation of the depth distribution of bigeye tuna, based on habitat preference and oceanographic data; (3) estimation of effective longline effort, using fine‐scale Japanese longline fishery data; and (4) aggregation of catch and effective effort over appropriate spatial zones to produce revised time series of CPUE. Model results indicate that effective effort has increased in both the western and central Pacific Ocean (WCPO) and eastern Pacific Ocean (EPO). In the WCPO, effective effort increased by 43% from the late 1960s to the late 1980s due primarily to the increased effectiveness of effort (deeper longline sets) rather than to increased nominal effort. Over the same period, effective effort increased 250% in the EPO due primarily to increased nominal effort. Nominal and standardized CPUE indices in the EPO show similar trends – a decline during the 1960s, a period of stability in the 1970s, high values during 1985–1986 and a decline thereafter. In the WCPO, nominal CPUE is stable over the time‐series; however, standardized CPUE has declined by ～50%. If estimates of standardized CPUE accurately reflect relative abundance, then we have documented substantial reductions of bigeye tuna abundance for some regions in the Pacific Ocean. A decline in standardized CPUE in the subtropical gyres concurrent with stability in equatorial areas may represent a contraction in the range of the population resulting from a decline in population abundance. The sensitivity of the results to the habitat (temperature and oxygen) assumptions was tested using Monte Carlo simulations.     

Mechanism of body cavity temperature regulation of chum salmon (Oncorhynchus keta) during homing migration in the North Pacific Ocean

Vertical movement patterns of five chum salmon (Oncorhynchus keta) during homing migration were examined using archival tags. The standard deviation of the depth and ambient and body cavity temperatures during daytime were larger than those during night‐time. Vertical movements through the thermocline with a periodicity of less than 1 h were observed during daytime in addition to the diel vertical movement patterns in the open ocean. During these periods of frequent short‐term vertical movements, the difference between the body cavity temperature and ambient temperature was large while the variance of the body cavity temperature was less than that of the ambient temperature. From the results of a random simulation, the variation of the body cavity temperature was shown to decrease due to these periodic high frequency movements in comparison with random vertical movements. The whole‐body heat‐transfer coefficient k (s^?1), which was estimated by a heat budget model, was 1.48 × 10^?3. The k of chum salmon was larger than that of bigeye tuna (Thunnus obesus) by about one order of magnitude for the cooling of the body. The k of chum salmon did not change like tuna, which are physiologically adapted to conserve body cavity temperature. This indicates that the regulation of body cavity temperature by chum salmon is dependent on the vertical movements only. The maintenance of the body cavity temperature is concluded to be advantageous for their maturation and growth from the relationship between energy input and output during their homing migration.     

吉尔伯特群岛海域延绳钓渔场大眼金枪鱼的环境偏好

为了掌握基里巴斯吉尔伯特群岛附近海域大眼金枪鱼的环境偏好,2009年9月至12月,金枪鱼延绳钓船"深联成719"在该海域进行了调查。利用仪器获取海洋环境数据,结合每天渔获数据,应用逐步回归方法,建立钓钩深度预测模型,计算大眼金枪鱼在各水层、温度、盐度、叶绿素、含氧量、水平海流和垂直海流范围内的渔获率,渔获率最大的各环境因子范围为大眼金枪鱼偏好的环境。结果表明:(1)大眼金枪鱼偏好的水层、水温、盐度、叶绿素、含氧量、水平海流和垂直海流范围分别为200.0~240.0 m、14.0~15.0℃、35.00~35.10、0.24~0.26μg/L、3.0~4.0 mg/L、0.00~0.20 m/s和0.03~0.04 m/s;(2)一般情况下,接近成熟的大眼金枪鱼偏好的水温为14.0~17.0℃;(3)大眼金枪鱼的适盐性较广;(4)溶解氧高于门限值(0.8 mg/L)时,大眼金枪鱼的分布由其它环境因子决定。     

Spatial variability of bigeye tuna habitat in the Pacific Ocean: Hindcast from a refined ecological niche model

Habitat distribution is critically informative for stock assessment, since incorporating its variabilities can have important implications for the estimation of stock biomass or the relative abundance index. A refined ecological niche model with habitat characteristic parameterization was developed to reconstitute a 3‐D ecological map of bigeye tuna in the Pacific Ocean. We determined the boundaries and hierarchies of oceanographic features and hydrological conditions at horizontal and vertical scales to define the habitat preference of bigeye tuna associated with their feeding and physiological requirements. Ecogeographic projections underlined the depth‐ and region‐specific habitat distribution of bigeye tuna, with noticeable dynamic variations in the response to climate variability. Depths from 300 to 400 m represented layers of the most productive habitat, which was widespread through the equatorial Pacific Ocean and extended to the north‐central Pacific Ocean. The proportion of high‐quality habitat size in the north Pacific had a strictly regular intra‐annual cycle with peaks during the winter. Climate variability appeared to disturb the balance of the regular fluctuations in habitat size in the equatorial Pacific. Habitat hotspots during an El Niño period were characterized by their expansion to the north of the Hawaiian islands, shrinkage in the west for the hotspot band north of the Equator, and an eastern shift for the band south of the Equator. This variability may be the consequence of the incorporated fluctuations of the oxygen minimum zones (OMZ), current systems, and stratification in the open ocean.     

Association between the interannual variation in the oceanic environment and catch rates of bigeye tuna (Thunnus obesus) in the Atlantic Ocean

The environmental processes associated with variability in the catch rates of bigeye tuna in the Atlantic Ocean are largely unexplored. This study used generalized additive models (GAMs) fitted to Taiwanese longline fishery data from 1990 to 2009 and investigated the association between environmental variables and catch rates to identify the processes influencing bigeye tuna distribution in the Atlantic Ocean. The present findings reveal that the year (temporal factor), latitude and longitude (spatial factors), and major regular longline target species of albacore catches are significant for the standardization of bigeye tuna catch rates in the Atlantic Ocean. The standardized catch rates and distribution of bigeye tuna were found to be related to environmental and climatic variation. The model selection processes showed that the selected GAMs explained 70% of the cumulative deviance in the entire Atlantic Ocean. Regarding environmental factors, the depth of the 20 degree isotherm (D20) substantially contributed to the explained deviance; other important factors were sea surface temperature (SST) and sea surface height deviation (SSHD). The potential fishing grounds were observed with SSTs of 22–28°C, a D20 shallower than 150 m and negative SSHDs in the Atlantic Ocean. The higher predicted catch rates were increased in the positive northern tropical Atlantic and negative North Atlantic Oscillation events with a higher SST and shallow D20, suggesting that climatic oscillations affect the population abundance and distribution of bigeye tuna.     

热带印度洋大眼金枪鱼渔场时空分布与温跃层关系

为了解印度洋大眼金枪鱼(Thunnus obesus)温跃层参数适宜分布区间及季节变化,采用Argo浮标剖面温度数据重构热带印度洋各月平均温跃层特征参数,并结合印度洋金枪鱼委员会(IOTC)大眼金枪鱼延绳钓渔业数据,本文绘制了月平均温跃层特征参数和月平均CPUE的空间叠加图,用于分析热带印度洋大眼金枪鱼渔场CPUE时空分布和温跃层特征参数的关系。结果表明,热带印度洋温跃层上界深度、温度和下界深度都具有明显的季节性变化,大眼金枪鱼中心渔场分布和温跃层季节性变化有关。夏季季风期间,高CPUE渔区温跃层上界深度在30~50 m,浅于冬季的50~70 m;温跃层上界温度范围为24~30℃。在冬季季风期间,高CPUE区域对应的温跃层上界温度范围为27~30℃;从马达加斯加岛北部沿非洲大陆至索马里附近海域,温跃层下界深度在170~200 m时的渔区CPUE普遍较高;当深度超过300 m时,CPUE值均非常低。采用频次分析和经验累积分布函数计算其最适温跃层特征参数分布,得出大眼金枪鱼最适温跃层的上界、下界温度范围分别是26~29℃和13~15℃;其上界、下界深度范围分别是30~60 m和140~170 m。文章初步得出印度洋大眼金枪鱼中心渔场温跃层各特征参数的适宜分布区间及季节变化特征,为金枪鱼实际生产作业和资源管理提供理论参考。     

Considerations on diving patterns of bigeye tuna Thunnus obesus based on archival tag data

Swimming depth and selected environmental factors were examined using 2764 days of archival tag data for 18 bigeye tuna Thunnus obesus (fork length at release 58.5 ± 7.2 cm) that were captured, tagged, and released into Japanese waters. Daytime swimming depth was deeper with increasing body length. The lowest temperature encountered was usually about 10 °C or slightly higher. A positive correlation between swimming depth and light intensity at the ocean surface was dominant for during both daytime and nighttime. Synchronicity of swimming depth with deep scattering layer (DSL) was observed, except around midday. Deep diving to depths exceeding 550 m was observed a mean of 0.30 dives/fish/day. Based on the classification and analyses of deep diving pattern and consideration of environmental data, deep diving was assumed to be undertaken for the purposes of foraging, predator avoidance, and exploration of bathymetry, as well as due to aberrant behavior. Occasionally, extremely deep diving events exceeding 1000 m (maximum 1616 m) were recorded. Bigeye tuna appear to have high visual acuity and tolerance of both low and wide temperature ranges, and low dissolved oxygen content. Thus, probably bigeye tuna swimming depth is primarily adjusted based on prey distribution.     

基于集成学习的大西洋热带水域大眼金枪鱼渔情预报

为提高大西洋大眼金枪鱼渔场预报模型的准确率,实验利用13艘中国延绳钓渔船2013—2019年的渔捞日志数据和对应的海洋环境数据(海表面风速、叶绿素a浓度、涡动能、混合层深度和0～500 m水层的垂直温度、盐度和溶解氧等),以天为时间分辨率、2°×2°为空间分辨率、以数据集的75%为训练数据建立了K最近邻(KNN)、逻辑斯蒂回归(LR)、分类与回归树(CART)、支持向量机(SVM)、人工神经网络(ANN)、随机森林(RF)、梯度提升决策树(GBDT)和Stacking集成(STK)渔情预报模型,以25%的测试数据进行模型性能测试、比较。结果显示,(1) STK (由KNN、RF、GBDT模型集成)模型的大眼金枪鱼渔场预报性能较KNN、LR、CART、SVM、ANN、RF和GBDT模型有所提高且相对稳定,上述模型对应的准确率和ROC曲线下面积(AUC)依次分别为81.62%、0.781,79.44%、0.778,72.81%、0.685,74.84%、0.717,73.67%、0.702,67.70%、0.500,80.96%、0.780和78.13%、0.747;(2) STK模型预测...     

El Niño effects in the Palmyra Atoll region: oceanographic changes and bigeye tuna (Thunnus obesus) catch rate variability

A generalized additive model (GAM) was constructed to separate and quantify the effects of fishery‐based (operational) and oceanographic parameters on the bigeye tuna (Thunnus obesus) catch rates at Palmyra Atoll in the central Tropical Pacific. Bigeye catch, the number of hooks per set, and set location from 4884 longline sets spanning January 1994 to December 2003 were used with a temporally corresponding El Niño‐Southern Oscillation (ENSO) indicator built from sea surface height (SSH) data. Observations of environmental data combined with the results from the GAM indicated that there is an increase in bigeye catch rates corresponding to an increase in eastward advection during the winter months of El Niño events. A seasonal pattern with higher bigeye catch rates from December to April and a spatial pattern with higher rates to the northeast and northwest of the atoll were observed during this study period. It is hypothesized that the combination of the eastward advection of the warm pool coupled with vertical changes in temperature during the winter months of El Niño events increases the availability of bigeye tuna in this region. This increase in availability may be due to a change in exploitable population size, location, or both.     

Movement,depth distribution and survival of spinetail devilrays (Mobula japanica) tagged and released from purse‐seine catches in New Zealand

1. Mobulid rays are protected in New Zealand, but the spinetail devilray Mobula japanica is caught as bycatch in skipjack tuna purse seine fisheries.
2. Between 2005 and 2014, rays were recorded in 8.2% of observed purse seine sets. Rays were caught during summer, with a ‘hotspot’ (24.3% of sets) near the shelf edge off North Island over seabed depths of 150–350 m. Rays were usually brailed aboard with the tuna catch from successful sets, but were often entangled in the bunt of the net during unsuccessful sets.
3. Observers tagged nine rays with popup archival tags to obtain preliminary information on their post‐release survival, and spatial and vertical movements. Seven of the nine tags reported data, and four of those rays died within 2–4 days of release. All four rays that died had been brought aboard entangled in the bunt. The three surviving rays were all brailed aboard with the tuna catch.
4. One surviving ray remained near New Zealand for 2.7 months during summer, and the other two migrated 1400–1800 km northward to tropical waters near Vanuatu and Fiji at minimum speeds of 47 and 63 km day^?1 at the end of summer.
5. Archive data from one ray showed that it made regular vertical movements of 25–100 m amplitude, but spent most of its time shallower than 50 m, more so during the night (89.6%) than the day (76.6%), and mainly experienced temperatures of 18?22 °C. Dives deeper than 200 m were usually made during the day or twilight.
6. All three surviving rays typically moved between the surface and 200–300 m daily, and reached greatest depths of 649 m, 1000 m and 1112 m, respectively, substantially exceeding the previous depth record for this species of 445 m.
7. Recommendations are made for reducing purse seine mortality of mobulid rays by avoiding areas of high ray abundance, avoiding setting on ray‐associated tuna schools, and adopting best‐practice methods of returning rays to the sea from the net or vessel.

Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Acoustic telemetry versus monitored longline fishing for studying the vertical distribution of pelagic fish: bigeye tuna (Thunnus obesus) in French Polynesia

This study compares detailed, nearly continuous, observations on bigeye tuna, Thunnus obesus equipped with electronic tags, with discrete observations on a larger number of individuals from fishing experiments in order to validate the use of instrumented longlines to study the vertical distribution of fish. We show that the depth distributions obtained from the two different observation techniques regarding different environmental variables (temperature, dissolved oxygen (DO), prey distribution) are similar. Bigeye tuna do not seem to be attracted by baits in the vertical dimension (no modification of their vertical distribution by the fishing gear), which allows the use of instrumented longlines to study the vertical behaviour of pelagic species. This technique, when used with appropriate deployment strategy, could therefore represent an alternative to electronic tags (acoustic or archival tags) when there is a need to determine the vertical distribution of fish species by size or sex, in different environments for the study of fishery interactions.     

Climatic oscillations and tuna catch rates in the Indian Ocean: a wavelet approach to time series analysis

We analysed the influence of climatic oscillations [based on the Indian Oscillation Index (IOI)] on monthly catch rates of two tropical tuna species in the equatorial Indian Ocean. We carried out wavelet analysis, an efficient method of time series analysis to study non‐stationary data. Catch per unit of effort (CPUE) of bigeye tuna was computed from Japanese longline statistics from 1955 to 2002 in the equatorial Indian Ocean and CPUE of yellowfin tuna was derived from industrial purse seine statistics from 1984 to 2003 in the Western Indian Ocean. Wavelet analyses allowed us to quantify both the pattern of variability in the time series and non‐stationary associations between tuna and climatic signals. Phase analyses were carried out to investigate dependency between the two signals. We reported strong associations between tuna and climate series for the 4‐ and 5‐yr periodic modes, i.e. the periodic band of the El Niño Southern Oscillation signal propagation in the Indian Ocean. These associations were non‐stationary, evidenced from 1970 to 1990 for bigeye, and from 1984 to 1991 and then from 1993 to 2001 for yellowfin. Warm episodes (low negative IOI values) matched increases of longline catch rates of bigeye during the 1970–1990 time frame, whereas the strong 1997–1998 warm event matched a decrease of purse seine catch rates of yellowfin. We discussed these results in terms of changes in catchability for purse seine and longline.     

Vertical behavior of bigeye tuna (Thunnus obesus) in the northwestern Pacific Ocean based on archival tag data

The behavior of bigeye tuna (Thunnus obesus) in the northwestern Pacific Ocean was investigated using archival tag data for 28 fish [49–72 cm fork length (FL) at release, 3–503 days] released in Japanese waters around the Nansei Islands (24–29°N, 122–132°E) and east of central Honshu (Offshore central Honshu, 32–36°N, 142–148°E). Vertical behavior was classified into three types based on past studies: ‘characteristic’ (non‐associative), ‘associative’ (associated with floating objects) and ‘other’ (behavior not fitting into these two categories). The proportion of fish showing associative behavior decreased and that of characteristic behavior increased as fish grew, and this shift was pronounced at 60–70 cm FL. The fish usually stayed above the 20°C isotherm during the daytime and nighttime when showing associative behavior and below the 20°C isotherm during daytime for characteristic behavior. A higher proportion of characteristic behavior was seen between December and April around the Nansei Islands, and between September and December for offshore central Honshu. Seasonal changes in vertical position were also observed in conjunction with changes in water temperature. In this study, ‘other’ behavior was further classified into five types, of which ‘afternoon dive’ behavior, characterized by deep dives between around noon and evening, was the most frequent. The present study indicated that in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, the vertical behavior of bigeye tuna changes with size, as well as between seasons and regions.     

Tracking bluefin tuna reproductive migration into the Mediterranean Sea with electronic pop‐up satellite archival tags using two tagging procedures

Thirteen adult bluefin tuna were tracked with electronic pop‐up satellite tags during their reproductive migration towards Mediterranean spawning grounds as they entered the Strait of Gibraltar. Fish were caught in tuna traps and tagged either underwater, with the aid of a modified spear gun, or on the deck of the boat. Fish tagged on board initially showed a shallower behavior than those tagged in the water. The pattern of horizontal movements was also different between both groups. Shortly after tagging, the eight fish tagged in the water entered the Mediterranean Sea. Six of these fish reached the spawning ground located southwest of the Balearic archipelago before heading back for the Atlantic, whereas the other two traveled farther east, reaching its easternmost longitudes between Formentera and Sardinia and the South Tyrrhenian Sea, respectively. In contrast, two out of the five fish tagged on board never entered the Mediterranean Sea, and another one did enter the Mediterranean when the reproductive season was already over. These results suggest an impact of the tagging procedure on the post‐release behavior of bluefin tuna. Excluding the tags that popped‐off east of the Strait of Gibraltar, bluefin tuna stayed in the Mediterranean Sea for 22–28 days. Analysis of the median depth indicated a shallow behavior during both day and nighttime throughout the return phase of the fish from the Mediterranean Sea to the Atlantic Ocean with the exception of the area around the Strait of Gibraltar, where they showed a deeper behavior that coincided with a marked vertical gradient in the currents.     

Plasticity in the diel vertical movement of two pelagic predators (Prionace glauca and Alopias vulpinus) in the southeastern Indian Ocean

Management and conservation of marine predator species relies on a fundamental knowledge of their movements and behaviour. Pop‐up satellite archival tags were used to investigate the vertical movement patterns of five blue sharks (Prionace glauca) and one thresher shark (Alopias vulpinus) within the southeastern Indian Ocean. Sections of similar depth distribution, identified using a split moving window analysis, were investigated in relation to the thermal structure of the water column and activity rates. Minimum horizontal displacement of between 66 and 5,187 km for blue sharks and 16 km for the thresher shark were recorded over 863 tracking days. Maximum depths ranged from 540 to 807 m for blue sharks and 144 m for the thresher shark. All sharks displayed plasticity in their depth distribution, with diel vertical movements and surface‐oriented movements the two most common patterns. Diel movement of prey is the most likely explanation for diel vertical movements of thresher and blue sharks. This study has improved our understanding of the vertical movement patterns of these pelagic predators and the relationship between their depth distribution, temperature, and activity.     

Tuna and swordfish catch in the U.S. northwest Atlantic longline fishery in relation to mesoscale eddies

To analyze the effects of mesoscale eddies, sea surface temperature (SST), and gear configuration on the catch of Atlantic bluefin (Thunnus thynnus), yellowfin (Thunnus albacares), and bigeye tuna (Thunnus obesus) and swordfish (Xiphias gladius) in the U.S. northwest Atlantic longline fishery, we constructed multivariate statistical models relating these variables to the catch of the four species in 62 121 longline hauls made between 1993 and 2005. During the same 13‐year period, 103 anticyclonic eddies and 269 cyclonic eddies were detected by our algorithm in the region 30–55°N, 30–80°W. Our results show that tuna and swordfish catches were associated with different eddy structures. Bluefin tuna catch was highest in anticyclonic eddies whereas yellowfin and bigeye tuna catches were highest in cyclonic eddies. Swordfish catch was found preferentially in regions outside of eddies. Our study confirms that the common practice of targeting tuna with day sets and swordfish with night sets is effective. In addition, bluefin tuna and swordfish catches responded to most of the variables we tested in the opposite directions. Bluefin tuna catch was negatively correlated with longitude and the number of light sticks used whereas swordfish catch was positively correlated with these two variables. We argue that overfishing of bluefin tuna can be alleviated and that swordfish can be targeted more efficiently by avoiding fishing in anticyclonic eddies and in near‐shore waters and using more light sticks and fishing at night in our study area, although further studies are needed to propose a solid oceanography‐based management plan for catch selection.