FISHERIES RESEARCH INSTITUTE,MOA,TAIWAN

In this research, the economically important bottom species of red bigeye fish were studied to understand how variations in these resources were influenced by the climate change index and environmental factors of its habitat during the 17-year period between 1997 and 2013. The results show that Priacanthus macracanthus is the main species of red bigeye fish caught by bottom trawlers in the southwestern waters off Taiwan. The fishing grounds are mainly distributed at the depth range of 50 ~ 300 m with the CPUE being significantly higher at depths of 100 ~ 200 m. The fishing season for red bigeye fish in the southwestern waters of Taiwan previously varied other from April to May or from October to December. Since 2010, however, the fishing season has occurred from October to December, and the fishing ground data shows that the resources, were moving deeper and further off the coast. Canonical correlation analysis (CCA) indicated that the red bigeye fish CUPE has a positive correlation with the SOI index and trash fish resource, and a negative correlation with the PDO index and salinity at a depth of 100 m. This indicates that the resource may be influenced by the effect of La Niña. This study will help predict changes in red bigeye fish resources under the influence of hydrological environment changes, providing an important reference for fishery management in the future.