Seasonal changes of potential fishing ground formation for Skipjack Tuna in the Bone Gulf, Indonesia

Skipjack tuna (Katsuwonus pelamis) plays an important role by pole and line fishery in the Bone Gulf, Indonesia, since it has a high economic value and wide market acceptance. The purpose of this paper was to assess the seasonal changes of skipjack tuna potential fishing ground in the Bone Gulf. We used pole and line fishery and oceanographic data of sea surface temperature (SST) and chlorophyll-a derived from satellite to figure out the seasonal formation of the potential fishing areas. We developed the spatial model to determine the potential fishing ground based on different levels of oceanographic preferences. The results showed that potential fishing grounds were mostly formed in the first transition season (particularly in May) as well as the west season (especially in November), which have a good association with the specific SST and chlorophyll-a of near 30 Deg C and 0.2 mg m-3, respectively. Most of the potential skipjack fishing ground formation developed along with the specific oceanographic signatures. It was likely that the potential seasonal changes of fishing grounds corresponded with enhanced feeding opportunity distribution pattern for skipjack schools. This suggested that these potential areas play an important for conservation and skipjack fishing management within the study area.