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 Northwest 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 important oceanic squid, which is widely distributed in the North Pacific Ocean. Based on the catch data collected 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 differences 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 temperature gradient of SST for O. bartramii tended to be centered at 0.01-0.02 degrees 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 degrees 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 degrees C/m during August and September and at 0.10-0.15 degrees 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 O. bartramii fishery.