Evaluating a Suitable Aquaculture Site Selection Model for Cobia (Rachycentron canadum) during Extreme Events in the Inner Bay of the Penghu Islands, Taiwan

Despite numerous studies on the effect of a cold weather disaster on fisheries in 2008, no operational systems have been developed to monitor the threat of such an event to mariculturists in the Penghu Islands (PHI) region of Taiwan. The present study employed a suitable aquaculture site selection map of the inner bay of the PHI to reduce aquaculture losses and mortality rates of cobia (Rachycentron canadum) during extreme events. Daily marine environmental data, including sea surface temperature (SST), chlorophyll-a concentration (chl-a), and wind speed in the winter, were collected. An extreme event was defined as a period of over 11 days in a month of strong winds (>6 m/s). Four parameters in the PHI inner bay, including SST, cold-water intrusion days, chl-a, and offshore distance to the PHI coastline, were used to evaluate suitable aquaculture sites for cobia culture. The results indicated that La Nina events could not be used as a factor to detect cold-water intrusion events and select suitable aquaculture sites in the PHI. The evaluated suitable aquaculture site selection map, obtained using an arithmetic mean model and a geometric mean model, revealed that the avoidance sites during extreme events were concentrated in the northern and northwestern PHI. Suitable areas were concentrated in the southeastern areas. We further suggested that commercial cobia aquaculture operations in the PHI inner bay could be moved to the suitable sites in southeastern PHI during extreme events.