The Catch Distribution of Ommastrephes batramii in Squid Jigging Fishery and the Relationship between Fishing Ground and SST in the North Pacific Ocean in 2004

Neon flying squid Ommastrephes batramii is widely distributed in the North Pacific Ocean, which has become the main fishing species for Chinese squid jigging fleets since 1993. Many authors have made the studies on the fields of fishing ground and its environment conditions. However, the squid catch per fishing vessel attained the highest level of about 550 t in 2004. In this paper, the catch and its distribution in 2004 would be compared with the previous year. Based on the catch data from Chinese squid jigging vessels and sea surface temperature with the format of 1 °latitude by 1 °longitude from May to November in 2004, the distribution maps were drawn by Marine explorer 4.0. The results show that the production in the east waters to 160°E was low during May and July. During October and November, the production in the waters from 150°E to 160°E was relatively higher, which occupied 62.5 percent of the total catch. During November, the production in the west waters to 150°E was also low. The highest CPUE area located in the west waters to 150°E, the next was the area from 150°E to 160°E and the lowest CPUE area located in the east waters to 160°E. The SST in the fishing ground seems to change seasonally. The suitable SST for each month is as follows： 12-14 ℃ in May, 15 ℃ - 16 ℃ in June, 14 ℃ - 16 ℃ in July, 18 ℃ - 19 ℃ in August, 16 ℃ -17 ℃ in September, 15 ℃- 16 ℃ in October and 12 ℃ - 13 ℃ in November. The result of K-S test shows that the above monthly suitable SST is considered as the indicator of looking for the main fishing ground.

Variations of oceanic fronts and their influence on the fishing grounds of Ommastrephes bartramii in the Northwest Pacific

Two predominant currents, the warm Kuroshio Current and the cold Oyashio Current, meet in the North- west Pacific Ocean. The dynamics of physical oceanographic structures in this region, including frontal zones and meandering eddies, result in a highly productive habitat that serves as a favorable feeding ground for various commercially important species. Neon flying squid, Ommastrephes bartramii, is an im- portant oceanic squid, which is widely distributed in the North Pacific Ocean. Based on the catch data col- lected by Chinese squid jigging fleets and relevant environmental data, including sea surface temperature （SST） and fronts （represented by gradients of SST and thermocline） during 1998-2009, the variations of oceanic fronts and their influence on the fishing grounds of O. bartramii were evaluated, and the differ- ences in distribution of fishing grounds of O. bartramii in 2000 and 2002 were compared by describing the differences in vertical temperature between 0-300 m. It was found that the preferred horizontal tem- perature gradient of SST for O. bartramii tended to be centered at 0.01-0.02~C/nm, which attracted nearly 80% of the total fishing effort, and the preferred horizontal temperature gradients at the 50 m and 105 m layers were mainly located at 0.01-0.03~C/nm, which accounted for more than 70% of the total fishing effort during August-October. The preferred vertical temperature gradient within the 0-50 m layer for O. bartramii tended to be centered at 0.15-0.25~C/m during August and September and at 0.10-0.15~C/m in October, implying that the mixed surface layer was distributed at depths of 0-50 m. It was concluded that the vertical temperature gradient was more important than the horizontal temperature gradient in playing a role in forming the fishing ground. The results improved our understanding of the spatial dynamics of the 0. bartramii fishery.

A Review of Interaction Between Neon Flying Squid(Ommastrephes bartramii) and Oceanographic Variability in the North Pacific Ocean

The neon flying squid （Ommastrephes bartramii） is a short-lived opporttmistic species widely distributed in subtropical and temperate waters in the North Pacific Ocean. The life cycle of O. bartramii from planktonic eggs to nektonic adults is closely linked to oceanographic conditions. The fluctuations in O. bartramii abundance and distribution tend to increase and widen continu- ously due to the heavy influences of ocean-climate events on various spatio-temporal scales. In this study, we reviewed the interac- tion between O. bartramii and oceanography variability in the North Pacific with respect to large-scale climatic-oceanic phenomena including E1 Nifio, La Nifia, Kuroshio, Oyashio and Pacific Decadal Oscillation （PDO）, as well as regional environmental variables such as sea surface temperature （SST）, sea surface height （SSH）, sea surface salinity （SSS）, chlorophyll-a （Chl-a） concentration, and plankton density. The population dynamics of O. bartramii is mediated mainly by meso- and large-scale climatic-oceanic events （e.g., Kuroshio and Oyashio Currents） rather than other local environmental conditions （e.g., SST and Chl-a concentration）, because all of the oceanographic influences are imposed on the context of large-scale climate changes （e.g., PDO）. An unstructured-grid finite- volume coastal ocean model coupled with an individual-based model is proposed to simulate relevant physical-biological oceano- graphic processes for identifying ocean-climate influence and predicting O. bartramii distribution and abundance in the North Pacific. Future research needs to be focused on improving the knowledge about early life history of O. bartramii and evaluating the relation- ship between marine physical environment and two separate passive drifting life stages of O. bartramii including free-floating eggs and planktonic paralarvae.

The study on fishing ground of neon flying squid, Ommastrephes bartrami,and ocean environment based on remote sensing data in the Northwest Pacific Ocean

The relationships between the neon flying squid, Ommastrephes bartrami, and the relative ocean environmental factors are analyzed. The environmental factors collected are sea surface temperature （SST）, chlorophyll concentration （Chl-α） and sea surface height （SSH） from NASA, as well as the yields of neon flying squid in the North Pacific Ocean. The results show that the favorable temperature for neon flying squid living is 10℃-22℃ and the favorite temperature is between 15℃-17℃. The Chl-α concentration is 0.1-0.6 mg/m^3. When Chl-α concentration changes to 0.12-0.14 mg/m^3, the probability of forming fishing ground becomes very high. In most fishing grounds, the SSH is higher than the mean SSH. The generalized additive model （GAM） was applied to analyze the correlations between neon flying squid and ocean environmental factors. Every year, squids migrate northward from June to August and return southward during October-November, and the characteristics of the both migrations are very different. When squids migrate to the north, most relationships between the yields and SST are positive. The relationships are negative when squids move to southward. The relationships between the yields and Chl-a concentrations are negative from June to October, and insignificant in November. There is no obvious correlation between the catches of squid and longitude, but good with latitude.

Standardizing CPUE of Ommastrephes bartramii for Chinese squid-jigging fishery in Northwest Pacific Ocean

Generalized linear models （GLM） and generalized additive models （GAM） were used to standardize catch per unit fishing effort （CPUE） of Ommastrephes bartramii for Chinese squid-jigging fishery in Northwest Pacific Ocean. Three groups of variables were considered in the standardization： spatial variables （longitude and latitude）, temporal variables （year and month） and environmental variables, including sea surface temperature （SST）, sea surface salinity （SSS） and sea level height （SLH）. CPUE was treated as the dependent variable and its error distribution was assumed to be log-normal in each model. The model selections of GLM and GAM were based on the finite sample-corrected Akaike information criterion （AICC） and pseudo-coefficient （Pcf） combined P-value, respectively. Both GAM and GLM analysis showed that the month was the most important variable affecting CPUE and could explain 21.3% of variability in CPUE while other variables only explained 8.66%. The interaction of spatial and temporal variables weakly influenced the CPUE. Moreover, spatio-temporal factors may be more important in influencing the CPUE of this squid than environmental variables. The standardized and nominal CPUEs were similar and had the same trends in spatio-temporal distribution, but the standardized CPUE values tended to be smaller than the nominal CPUE. The CPUE tended to have much higher monthly variation than annual variations and their values increased with month. The CPUE became higher with increasing latitude-high CPUE usually occurred in 145°E-148°E and 149°E-162°E. The CPUE was higher when SST was 14-21℃ and the SLH from -22 cm to -18 cm. In this study, GAM tended to be more suitable than GLM in analysis of CPUE.

Effects of environmental variations on the abundance of western winter-spring cohort of neon flying squid(Ommastrephes bartramii) in the Northwest Pacific Ocean

During 1995-2011, annual production of winter-spring cohort of Ommastrephes bartramii for Chinese squidjigging fishery has greatly fluctuated, which is closely related to the environmental conditions on the spawning and fishing grounds. To better understand how squid recruitment and abundance were infuenced by ocean environmental conditions, biological and physical environmental variables including sea surface temperature （SST）, SST anomaly （SSTA）, chlorophyll a （Chl a） concentration and the Kuroshio Current were examined during years with the highest （1999）, intermediate （2005）, and lowest （2009） catches. Catch per unit effort （CPUE） of the squid-jigging vessels was used as an indicator of squid abundance. The results indicated that high SST and Chl a concentration on the spawning ground in 1999 resulted in favorable incubation and feeding conditions for squid recruitment. Whereas the suitable spawning zone （SSZ） in 2009 shifted southward and coincided with low SST and Chl a concentration, resulting in a reduction in the squid recruitment. The small difference of SSZ area in the three years suggested the SSZ provided limited influences on the variability in squid recruitment. Furthermore, high squid abundance in 1999 and 2005 was associated with warm SSTA on the fishing ground. While the cool SSTA on the fishing ground in 2009 contributed to adverse habitat for the squid, leading to extremely low abundance. It was inferred that strengthened intensity of the Kuroshio force generally yielded favorable environmental conditions for O. bartramii. Future research are suggested to focus on the fundamental research oil the early life stage of O. bartramii and mechanism of how the ocean-climate variability affects the squid abundance and spatial distribution by coupling physical model with squid biological process to explore transport path and abundance distribution.

Importance of Weighting for Multi-Variable Habitat Suitability Index Model: A Case Study of Winter- Spring Cohort of Ommastrephes bartramii in the Northwestern Pacific Ocean

Weighting values for different habitat variables used in multi-factor habitat suitability index (HSI) modeling reflect the relative influences of different variables on distribution of fish species. Using the winter-spring cohort of neon flying squid (Ommastrephes bartramii) in the Northwestern Pacific Ocean as an example, we evaluated the impact of different weighting schemes on the HSI models based on sea surface temperature, gradient of sea surface temperature and sea surface height. We compared differences in predicted fishing effort and HSI values resulting from different weighting. The weighting for different habitat variables could greatly influence HSI modeling and should be carefully done based on their relative importance in influencing the resource spatial distribution. Weighting in a multi-factor HSI model should be further studied and optimization methods should be developed to improve forecasting squid spatial distributions.

Modeling a habitat suitability index for the eastern fall cohort of Ommastrephes bartramii in the central North Pacific Ocean

The eastern fall cohort of the neon flying squid, Ommastrephes bartramii, has been commercially exploited by the Chinese squid jigging fleet in the central North Pacific Ocean since the late 1990s. To understand and identify their optimal habitat, we have developed a habitat suitability index （HSI） model using two potential important environmental variables -- sea surface temperature （SST） and sea surface height anomaly （SSHA） -- and fishery data from the main fishing ground （165°-180°E） during June and July of 1999-2003. A geometric mean model （GMM）, minimum model （MM） and arithmetic weighted model （AWM） with different weights were compared and the best HSI model was selected using Akaike＇s information criterion （AIC）. The performance of the developed HSI model was evaluated using fishery data for 2004. This study suggests that the highest catch per unit effort （CPUE） and fishing effort are closely related to SST and SSHA. The best SST- and SSHA-based suitability index （SI） regression models were SISST-based = 0.7SIeffort-SST ＋ 0.3 SICPUE-SST, and SISSHA-based =0.5Sleffort-SSHA ＋ 0.5SICPUE-SSHA, respectively, showing that fishing effort is more important than CPUE in the estimation of SI. The best HSI model was the AWM, defined as HSI=0.3SISSHA-based＋ 0.7SISSHA-based, indicating that SSHA is more important than SST in estimating the HSI of squid. In 2004, monthly HSI values greater than 0.6 coincided with the distribution of productive fishing ground and high CPUE in June and July, suggesting that the models perform well. The proposed model provides an important tool in our efforts to develop forecasting capacity of squid spatial dynamics.

Ontogenetic difference of beak elemental concentration and its possible application in migration reconstruction for Ommastrephes bartramii in the North Pacific Ocean

The migration route of oceanic squid provides critical information for us to understand their spatial and temporal variations.Mark-recapture and electronic tags tend to be problematic during processing.Cephalopod hard structures such as the beak,containing abundant ecological information with stable morphology and statolithlike sequences of growth increments,may provide information for studying spatio-temporal distribution.In this study,we developed a method,which is based on elemental concentration of beaks at different ontogenetic stages and sampling locations,to reconstruct the squid migration route.We applied this method to Ommastrephes bartramii in the North Pacific Ocean.Nine trace elements were detected in the rostrum sagittal sections(RSS)of the beak using laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry(LA-ICP-MS).For those elements,significant differences were found between the different ontogenetic stages for phosphorus(P),copper(Cu)and zinc(Zn).Sodium(Na),P and Zn were chosen as indicators of sea surface temperature(SST)and a regression model was estimated.The high probability of occurrence in a particular area represented the possible optimal squid location based on a Bayesian model.A reconstructed migration route in this study,combining all the locations at different ontogenetic stages,was consistent with that hypothesized in previous studies.This study demonstrates that the beak can provide useful information for identifying the migration routes of oceanic squid.

Detection of spatial hot spots and variation for the neon flying squid Ommastrephes bartramii resources in the northwest Pacific Ocean

With the increasing effects of global climate change and fishing activities,the spatial distribution of the neon flying squid(Ommastrephes bartramii) is changing in the traditional fishing ground of 150°-160°E and 38°-45°N in the northwest Pacific Ocean.This research aims to identify the spatial hot and cold spots(i.e.spatial clusters) of O.bartramii to reveal its spatial structure using commercial fishery data from2007 to 2010 collected by Chinese mainland squid-j igging fleets.A relatively strongly-clustered distribution for O.bartramii was observed using an exploratory spatial data analysis(ESDA) method.The results show two hot spots and one cold spot in 2007 while only one hot and one cold spots were identified each year from2008 to 2010.The hot and cold spots in 2007 occupied 8.2%and 5.6%of the study area,respectively;these percentages for hot and cold spot areas were 5.8%and 3.1%in 2008,10.2%and 2.9%in 2009,and 16.4%and 11.9%in 2010,respectively.Nearly half(>45%) of the squid from 2007 to 2009 reported by Chinese fleets were caught in hot spot areas while this percentage reached its peak at 68.8%in 2010,indicating that the hot spot areas are central fishing grounds.A further change analysis shows the area centered at156°E/43.5°N was persistent as a hot spot over the whole period from 2007 to 2010.Furthermore,the hot spots were mainly identified in areas with sea surface temperature(SST) in the range of 15-20℃ around warm Kuroshio Currents as well as with the chlorophyll-a(chl-a) concentration above 0.3 mg/m^3.The outcome of this research improves our understanding of spatiotemporal hotspots and its variation for O.bartramii and is useful for sustainable exploitation,assessment,and management of this squid.

Modeling Monthly Spatial Distribution of Ommastrephes bartramii CPUE in the Northwest Pacific and Its Spatially Nonstationary Relationships with the Marine Environment

There are substantial spatial variations in the relationships between catch-per-unit-effort(CPUE) and oceanographic conditions with respect to pelagic species. This study examines the monthly spatiotemporal distribution of CPUE of the neon flying squid, Ommastrephes bartramii, in the Northwest Pacific from July to November during 2004–2013, and analyzes the relationships with oceanographic conditions using a generalized additive model(GAM) and geographically weighted regression(GWR) model. The results show that most of the squids were harvested in waters with sea surface temperature(SST) between 7.6 and 24.6℃, chlorophyll-a(Chl-a) concentration below 1.0 mgm^(-3), sea surface salinity(SSS) between 32.7 and 34.6, and sea surface height(SSH) between-12.8 and 28.4 cm. The monthly spatial distribution patterns of O. bartramii predicted using GAM and GWR models are similar to observed patterns for all months. There are notable variations in the local coefficients of GWR, indicating the presence of spatial non-stationarity in the relationship between O. bartramii CPUE and oceanographic conditions. The statistical results show that there were nearly equal positive and negative coefficients for Chl-a, more positive than negative coefficients for SST, and more negative than positive coefficients for SSS and SSH. The overall accuracies of the hot spots predicted by GWR exceed 60%(except for October), indicating a good performance of this model and its improvement over GAM. Our study provides a better understanding of the ecological dynamics of O. bartramii CPUE and makes it possible to use GWR to study the spatially nonstationary characteristics of other pelagic species.

Impacts of changing scale on Getis-Ord Gi* hotspots of CPUE:a case study of the neon flying squid (Ommastrephes bartramii)in the northwest Pacific Ocean

We examined the scale impacts on spatial hot and cold spots of CPUE for Ommastrephes bartramii in the northwest Pacific Ocean. The original fishery data were tessellated to 18 spatial scales from 5′×5′ to 90′×90′ with a scale interval of 5′ to identify the local clusters. The changes in location, boundaries, and statistics regarding the Getis-Ord Gi＊ hot and cold spots in response to the spatial scales were analyzed in detail. Several statistics including Min, mean, Max, SD, CV, skewness, kurtosis, first quartile（Q1）, median, third quartile（Q3）, area and centroid were calculated for spatial hot and cold spots. Scaling impacts were examined for the selected statistics using linear, logarithmic, exponential, power law and polynomial functions. Clear scaling relations were identified for Max, SD and kurtosis for both hot and cold spots. For the remaining statistics, either a difference of scale impacts was found between the two clusters, or no clear scaling relation was identified. Spatial scales coarser than 30′ are not recommended to identify the local spatial patterns of fisheries because the boundary and locations of hot and cold spots at a coarser scale are significantly different from those at the original scale.

The effect of sea surface temperature increase on the potential habitat of Ommastrephes bartramii in the Northwest Pacific Ocean

In the Northwest Pacific Ocean, the squid jigging fisheries from China, Japan and other countries and regions have targeted the west winter-spring cohort of neon flying squid（Ommastrephes bartramii） from August to November since the 1970 s. This squid is a short-lived ecological opportunist with a life-span of about one year,and its population is labile and recruitment variability is driven by the environment or climate change. This variability provides a challenge for ones to forecast the key habitats affected by climate change. The catch data of O. bartramii from Chinese squid jigging fishery and the satellite-derived sea surface temperature（SST） data are used in the Northwest Pacific Ocean from August to November of 1998 to 2004, the SST preferences of O.bartramii corresponding to high values of catch per fishing day（CPUE） are determined and monthly potential habitats are predicted using a histogram analysis of the SST data. The possible changes in the potential habitats of O. bartramii in the Northwest Pacific Ocean are estimated under four climate change scenarios based on the Fourth Assessment Report（AR4） of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, i.e., 0.5, 1, 2 and 4°C increases in the SST because of the climate change. The results reveal an obvious poleward shift of the potential habitats of O. bartramii in the Northwest Pacific Ocean.

Impacts of climatic and marine environmental variations on the spatial distribution of Ommastrephes bartramii in the Northwest Pacific Ocean

Ommastrephes bartramii is an ecologically dependent species and has great commercial values among the AsiaPacific countries. This squid widely inhabits the North Pacific, one of the most dynamic marine environments in the world, subjecting to multi-scale climatic events such as the Pacific Decadal Oscillation（PDO）. Commercial fishery data from the Chinese squid-jigging fleets during 1995-2011 are used to evaluate the influences of climatic and oceanic environmental variations on the spatial distribution of O. bartramii. Significant interannual and seasonal variability are observed in the longitudinal and latitudinal gravity centers（LONG and LATG） of fishing ground of O. bartramii. The LATG mainly occurred in the waters with the suitable ranges of environmental variables estimated by the generalized additive model. The apparent north-south spatial shift in the annual LATG appeares to be associated with the PDO phenomenon and is closely related to the sea surface temperature（SST）and sea surface height（SSH） on the fishing ground, whereas the mixed layer depth（MLD） might contribute limited impacts to the distribution pattern of O. bartramii. The warm PDO regimes tend to yield cold SST and low SSH, resulting in a southward shift of LATG, while the cold PDO phases provid warm SST and elevated SSH,resulting in a northward shift of LATG. A regression model is developed to help understand and predict the fishing ground distributions of O. bartramii and improve the fishery management.

Effect of Spatial and Temporal Scales on Habitat Suitability Modeling:A Case Study of Ommastrephes bartramii in the Northwest Pacific Ocean

Temporal and spatial scales play important roles in fishery ecology,and an inappropriate spatio-temporal scale may result in large errors in modeling fish distribution.The objective of this study is to evaluate the roles of spatio-temporal scales in habitat suitability modeling,with the western stock of winter-spring cohort of neon flying squid （Ornmastrephes bartramii） in the northwest Pacific Ocean as an example.In this study,the fishery-dependent data from the Chinese Mainland Squid Jigging Technical Group and sea surface temperature （SST） from remote sensing during August to October of 2003-2008 were used.We evaluated the differences in a habitat suitability index model resulting from aggregating data with 36 different spatial scales with a combination of three latitude scales （0.5°,1 ° and 2°）,four longitude scales （0.5°,1°,2° and 4°）,and three temporal scales （week,fortnight,and month）.The coefficients of variation （CV） of the weekly,biweekly and monthly suitability index （SI） were compared to determine which temporal and spatial scales of SI model are more precise.This study shows that the optimal temporal and spatial scales with the lowest CV are month,and 0.5° latitude and 0.5° longitude for O.bartramii in the northwest Pacific Ocean.This suitability index model developed with an optimal scale can be cost-effective in improving forecasting fishing ground and requires no excessive sampling efforts.We suggest that the uncertainty associated with spatial and temporal scales used in data aggregations needs to be considered in habitat suitability modeling.

Fluctuation in Ommastrephe bartrami yield in the North Pacific

The fluctuation in Ommastrephe bartrami yield from 1995 to 2001 in the North Pacific was shown obvious, on which this study was conducted using data of sea surface temperature （SST）, chlorophyll-a （chl-α） and statistical production. The study shows that, cool water and low food abundance caused by abnormal Kuroshio resulted in the reduction in abundance of O. bartrami, which was worsened by excessive catch and the unawareness to local fishery resources protection.

Synchronous Variations in Abundance and Distribution of Ommastrephes bartramii and Dosidicus gigas in the Pacific Ocean

An analysis was performed in this study to investigate synchronous fluctuations in abundance and distribution of Om-mastrephes bartramii in the Northwest Pacific Ocean and Dosidicus gigas in the Southeast Pacific Ocean.The impacts of two Niño indices and regional water surface temperature on the two squids during 2006-2015 were evaluated,which possibly can explain the observed synchronicity.Catch per unit effort(CPUE)and the latitudinal gravity centers(LATG)of fishing effort were used to indi-cate squid abundance and distribution,respectively.The results indicated that both the CPUE and LATG showed highly interannual variations and synchronous fluctuation with significant negative associations between the two squid species from September to No-vember.Strong positive cross-correlations with 2-month lag was found between sea surface temperature(SST)anomaly in the Niño 3.4 and Niño 1+2 regions,which have significant linkage with the SST on the fishing ground of O.bartramii and D.gigas,respec-tively.Moreover,the proportion of favorable-SST area(PFSST)and the latitudinal location of the optimal SST for O.bartramii and D.gigas were positively correlated with the CPUE and LATG,respectively.Increased O.bartramii PFSST clearly corresponded to decreased D.gigas PFSST in phase as well as the latitudinal location of the optimal SST from September to November over 2006-2015.Our findings suggest that synchronous changes in abundance and distribution of the two squids were due to simultaneous variations in the PFSST and the latitudinal location of the optimal SST front which were affected by the SSTA changes in the Niño 3.4 and Niño 1+2 regions.

Influence of environmental data of different sources on marine species habitat modeling:A case study for Ommastrephes bartramii in the Northwest Pacific Ocean

The quality of environmental data and its possible impact on the marine species habitat modelling are often overlooked while the sources for these data are increasing.This study selected sea surface temperature(SST)from two commonly used sources,the NOAA Ocean Watch and IRI/LDEO Climate Data Library,and then constructed habitat suitability index model to evaluate the influences of SST from the two sources on the outcomes of Ommastrephes bartramii habitat models for the months of July–October in the Northwest Pacific Ocean during 1996–2012.This study examined the differences in the amount of estimated unfavourable/favourable habitat area when the SST used for model building and inference were the same or different.Dynamics in suitable habitat area calculated from SST was insensitive to the two different SST products.In the fishing season of O.bartramii,the changes of magnitude and trend of monthly suitable habitat area in August and September were similar over time,whereas there were large differences for July and October.Importantly,there is a substantial lack of consistency in the O.bartramii habitat distribution based on SST of two sources.This study considered the sources of environmental data for habitat modelling and then inferred species habitat distribution whether by the same or different data source.

Using Bayesian Bio-economic model to evaluate the management strategies of Ommastrephes bartramii in the Northwest Pacific Ocean

The neon flying squid(Ommastrephes bartramii)in the Northwest Pacific Ocean is one economically important cephalopod,largely exploited by squid jigging fleets from Chinese Mainland,Japan,and Chinese Taibei.In this study,a Bayesian Bio-economic model was developed using fishery data from Chinese Mainland,Japan,and Chinese Taibei,and relevant fishery economic data from Chinese Mainland.The stock assessment and risk analysis of alternative management strategies for O.bartramii were carried out.Three prior distributions(i.e.,uniform,normal and logarithmic normal)for model parameters were assumed in different scenarios.The results showed that the estimated model parameters and reference points such as maximum sustainable yield(MSY),maximum economic yield(MEY),bio-economic balance point(BE)and fishing mortality were similar in the scenarios of normal and logarithmic normal prior assumptions.However,the estimates were larger in the scenario of uniform prior assumption.The fishing mortalities and annual catches from 1996 to 2008 were lower than the reference points F_(0.1) and MSY in all the three scenarios,indicating that O.bartramii stock is at sustainable exploited level.The results of decision analysis indicated that under the same harvest rate,the catch and biomass in 2023 from the uniform assumption were the highest.However,the highest probability of the collapse was found for squid resources after 2023.Our findings suggested that the harvest rate of 0.4 appeared to be the best management regulation under the uniform assumption,and the MSY would be 200 thousand tons.In addition,the harvest rate of 0.5 would be the best management regulation under the other two assumptions,and the MSY would be 180 thousand tons,which balanced the desire for high yields and the healthy population.The results of this study could be used to provide management suggestions for neon flying squid in the Northwest Pacific Ocean.

Climate-induced life cycle and growth variations of neon flying squid(Ommastrephes bartramii)in the North Pacific Ocean

Climate change has had large impacts on marine animals,including neon flying squid Ommastrephes bartramii(O.bartramii)in the North Pacific Ocean.O.bartramii statoliths from 2012,2015,and 2016 were used to evaluate the variations in life cycle events.The relationship between mantle length and body weight showed significant differences between years and gender.The oldest squid was collected in 2016 at 271 days old,further proving that O.bartramii has nearly a 1-year life span.The hatching season ranged from December to May and the peak hatching time in 2015 was one-half month later than in 2012 and 2016.Growth rates varied with environmental factors such as sea surface temperature(SST)and chlorophyll a concentration(chl.a),indicating that higher SST and chl.a concentrations led to faster growth.An extreme El Ni˜no event with lower SST in 2015 also led to younger age class and slower growth rates.The occurrence of differences in body size and growth rates between years,caused by the interannual variations of environmental factors,makes it necessary to use separate growth curves for different years when analyzing North Pacific O.Bartramii populations.