Ps. Sunye et J. Servain, EFFECTS OF SEASONAL-VARIATIONS IN METEOROLOGY AND OCEANOGRAPHY ON THEBRAZILIAN SARDINE FISHERY, Fisheries oceanography, 7(2), 1998, pp. 89-100
Seasonal variations in meteorological and oceanographic processes in t
he South Brazil Eight were studied to assess their influence on the Br
azilian sardine Sardinella brasiliensis fishery. According to its envi
ronmental characteristics, the South Brazil Eight was divided into thr
ee sectors. The northern and southern sectors were similar during the
spring and summer, showing areas of coastal upwelling and low rainfall
rates. The middle sector was characterized by the presence of low-sal
inity coastal waters in the inner shelf and by high rainfall. During a
utumn and winter, the middle and southern sectors were similar, both b
eing under the influence of sub-Antarctic waters. Multiple regression
analyses showed significant correlation between environmental data and
catches, although at a lower level in the northern sector (r(2) = 0.5
7). In the middle and southern sectors, environmental data were highly
correlated with the catches (r(2) = 0.90 and 0.84). The sardine landi
ngs in the middle sector are principally affected by meteorological pa
rameters, and in the south by oceanographic ones. In the middle sector
, an inverse correlation between landings and rainfall is shown, while
in the south, landings are positively correlated with salinity and se
a temperature. The conclusion is that the seasonal landings of the Bra
zilian sardine within the South Brazil Eight are influenced by the dis
tribution of less saline waters, the coastal waters and sub-Antarctic
waters.