Relation between meteorological conditions and the catching of red tuna (Thunnus thynnus) from the measurements of the TOVS and AVHRR sensors of the NOAA satellites.

During the second half of the month of June 1997, a massive catch of red tuna (Thunnus thynnus) took place off the coast of Babarte (Spain), in contrast to the first half of that month when there was hardly any presence of this species. The aim of this paper was to examine the relation between the high fishing productivity and the meteorological conditions under which the oceanic events to which the tuna fisheries were attracted took place. This was carried out through the analysis of Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) sensor data and the data from the Tiros-N Operational Vertical Sounder (TOVS) probe of the NOAA-14 satellite from 10 to 24 June 1997. Results show that the formation of the fishing front was caused by an ocean-atmosphere energetic exchange, which was localized and described through the data transmitted from the NOAA satellites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]