Validation of Potential Fishing Zones using IRS-P4 OCM Data

Recognising ocean features such as water colour, temperature variations over sea surface turbidity, sea state, size and direction of waves, wind patterns, etc can be efficiently used to formulate fishing strategies. Efforts have been made by India to utilize satellite based remote sensing for identification and exploitation of potential fishing grounds. The Central Institute of Fisheries Technology, Cochin and Space Applications Centre, Ahmedabad as collaborating agencies have attempted to correlate the chlorophyll imageries taken by IRS-P4 OCM with the sea truth data. Energy conservation in fishing involve practices such as selection and promotion of low energy fishing techniques wherever possible, adoption of energy conservation practices and devices in energy intensive fishing systems by way of adopting advanced technologies such as remote sensing. The analysis for validating the IRS-P4 OCM chlorophyll imageries with the actual sea truth data by OFT and SAC was carried out in two phases. In the first phase the data collected from boats operating off Munambam, Kerala from February to May 2000 was analyzed, along with the data collected by departmental vessel "Sagarkripa". For the second phase the data analyzed was collected from the mechanized boats engaged in demersal trawling operating from Veraval Port, Gujarat. Rsults has shown that areas of greater catch rates generally coincided with high chlorophyll gradients detected by remote sensing. Further studies with supporting data on oceanographic parameters correlated with the ground truth data and the satellite imageries will make the interpretations more meaningful.