ROFFS™ - NASA_NMFS Bluefin Tuna Project

Bluefin Tuna Research in the Gulf of Mexico 2008-2009

The activity seeks to improve the existing National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) decision making system for population assessment and management of Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus thynnus).  The research team is a multi-sector and multi-disciplinary team composed of government (NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service, Southeast Fisheries Science Center – NMFS_SEFSC), academic (University of Massachusetts School for Marine Science and Technology and  University of South Florida Institute for Marine Remote Sensing) and commercial (Roffer’s Ocean Fishing Forecasting Service, Inc.) scientists.

The goal is to reduce the variance in the estimates of adult Atlantic bluefin tuna  spawning stock abundance in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) through the development of spawning site habitat classification and catchability indices of the larvae. These are being derived from the integration of several earth orbiting satellite data, in-situ oceanographic data, and ichthyoplankton larvae data. We are analyzing these data over a 20 year period to develop a time-series of enhanced biological and oceanographic indicators for the GOM fisheries. The habitat classification will lead to the development of  bluefin tuna larvae catchability indices which in turn will be used in reducing the statistical variance in the population analyses. The habitat classification will aid in developing models forecasting where concentrations of larvae are likely to occur leading to an “adaptive”  or targeted sampling strategy.

We will be providing individual daily sea surface temperature and ocean color images when it is appropriate. We will also be providing movie loops showing the ocean circulation.