Identification of Fishing State of Purse Seine Fishing Vessels Based on Multi-Indices

With the popularization of vessel satellite AIS(automatic identification system)equipment and the continuous improve-ment of the AIS data’s coverage,continuity and effectiveness,AIS has become an important data source to study the navigation char-acteristics of vessel groups.This study established an identification model to extract the fishing state and intensity information of fishing vessels,based on the AIS data of purse seine fishing vessels,combined with the variables of vessel position,speed and course.Expert experience,spatial statistics and data mining analysis methods were applied to establish the model,and the Western and Cen-tral Pacific Ocean areas were studied.The results showed that the overall accuracy of identification of the fishing state using Support Vector Machine method is higher,and the method has a good modeling effect.The spatial distribution characteristics of the vessels’fishing intensity based on AIS data showed a significant cluster distribution pattern.The obtained high-intensity fishing area can be used as a prediction of purse seine fishing grounds in the Western and Central Pacific areas.Through the processing and research of AIS data,this study provided important scientific support for the identification of fishing state of purse seine fishing vessels.The spatial fishing intensity of fishing vessels based on AIS data can also be used for the analysis of fishery resources and fishing grounds,and further serve the sustainable development of marine fisheries.

An assessment of “fishing down marine food webs” in coastal states during 1950–2010

Mean trophic level of fishery landings（MTL） is one of the most widely used biodiversity indicators to assess the impacts of fishing. Based on the landing data compiled by Food and Agriculture Organization combined with trophic information of relevant species in Fish Base, we evaluated the status of marine fisheries from 1950 to 2010 for different coastal states in Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans. We found that the phenomenon of ＂fishing down marine food webs＂ occurred in 43 states. Specifically, 27 states belonged to ＂fishing-through＂ pattern, and 16 states resulted from ＂fishing-down＂ scenario. The sign of recovery in MTL was common in the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans（occurred in 20 states）, but was generally accompanied by significantly decreased catches of traditional low trophic level species. In particular, 11 states showed significant declining catches of lower trophic levels. The MTL-based assessment of ＂fishing down marine food webs＂ needs to be interpreted cautiously.