Relationship Between Sea Surface Temperature Variation Obtained from AVHRR Imagery and Lobster Catching (Panulirus argus) in Cuban Waters (1997-2004)

Abstract

The spatial and temporal variability of sea surface temperature (SST) for the Cuban shelf waters was obtained, and the relationship of these with lobster catches in the period from January/1997-December/2004 was analyzed. The data from this environmental variable sensor were obtained from Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR). The periodicity of the images and data capture by fishing was monthly. Ocean waters and shelf have a seasonal pattern to the SST, reaching the highest in August (29.5 ° C) and the lowest in February (26 ° C). The extreme values recorded were recorded in August 1998 with anomalies of 1.9 ° C and -0.9 ° C in February 2001. During the winter period (Nov-Mar) it was possible to find a general pattern of water circulation in the area by observing the images; during the summer (May-October) this is not observed. Low correlation between SST anomalies and the catch of lobsters by fishing was observed. The best correlation coefficients (0.48) were found to the west of the island, with four years of time lag.