[OANNES Foro] Patterns in the spatial distribution of Peruvian anchovy (Engraulis ringens) revealed by spatially explicit fishing data

[raul sanchez]

Progress In Oceanography
Volume 79, Issues 2-4, October-December 2008, Pages 379-389 
The Northern Humboldt Current System: Ocean Dynamics, Ecosystem Processes, and Fisheries  
doi:10.1016/j.pocean.2008.10.009    

Patterns in the spatial distribution of Peruvian anchovy (Engraulis ringens) revealed by spatially explicit fishing data 

Sophie Bertranda, b, c, , , Erich Díazb and Matthieu Lengaigned

aUniversity of Washington, School of Aquatic and Fisheries Sciences, Box 355020, Seattle, WA 98195-5020, USA

bIMARPE, Esquina Gamarra y General Valle S/N, Chuchito, Callao, Lima, Peru

cInstitut de Recherche pour le Developpement (IRD), Centre de Recherche Halieutique Méditerranéenne et Tropicale, Avenue Jean Monnet, BP 171, 34203 Sète Cedex, France

dIRD, LOCEAN, Tour 45-55, 4ème Etage, 4 Place Jussieu, 75252 Paris Cedex 05, France

Abstract
Peruvian anchovy (Engraulis ringens) stock abundance is tightly driven by the high and unpredictable variability of the Humboldt Current Ecosystem. Management of the fishery therefore cannot rely on mid- or long-term management policy alone but needs to be adaptive at relatively short time scales. Regular acoustic surveys are performed on the stock at intervals of 2 to 4 times a year, but there is a need for more time continuous monitoring indicators to ensure that management can respond at suitable time scales. Existing literature suggests that spatially explicit data on the location of fishing activities could be used as a proxy for target stock distribution. Spatially explicit commercial fishing data could therefore guide adaptive management decisions at shorter time scales than is possible through scientific stock surveys. In this study we therefore aim to (1) estimate the position of fishing operations for the entire fleet of Peruvian anchovy
 purse–seiners using the Peruvian satellite vessel monitoring system (VMS), and (2) quantify the extent to which the distribution of purse–seine sets describes anchovy distribution. To estimate fishing set positions from vessel tracks derived from VMS data we developed a methodology based on artificial neural networks (ANN) trained on a sample of fishing trips with known fishing set positions (exact fishing positions are known for approximately 1.5% of the fleet from an at-sea observer program). The ANN correctly identified 83% of the real fishing sets and largely outperformed comparative linear models. This network is then used to forecast fishing operations for those trips where no observers were onboard. To quantify the extent to which fishing set distribution was correlated to stock distribution we compared three metrics describing features of the distributions (the mean distance to the coast, the total area of distribution, and a clustering
 index) for concomitant acoustic survey observations and fishing set positions identified from VMS. For two of these metrics (mean distance to the coast and clustering index), fishing and survey data were significantly correlated. We conclude that the location of purse–seine fishing sets yields significant and valuable information on the distribution of the Peruvian anchovy stock and ultimately on its vulnerability to the fishery. For example, a high concentration of sets in the near coastal zone could potentially be used as a warning signal of high levels of stock vulnerability and trigger appropriate management measures aimed at reducing fishing effort.

Keywords: Peruvian anchovy; Fish distribution; Vessel monitoring system (VMS); Neural network; Multilayer perceptron (MLP); Fishing sets distribution; Clustering index; Purse–seine fleet


Saludos,

Raúl E. Sánchez Scaglioni