Impact of Climatic Factors on Albacore Tuna Thunnus alalunga in the South Pacific Ocean

Singh, Ashneel A. and Sakuramoto, Kazumi and Suzuki, Naoki (2025) Impact of Climatic Factors on Albacore Tuna Thunnus alalunga in the South Pacific Ocean. Impact of Climatic Factors on Albacore Tuna Thunnus alalunga in the South Pacific Ocean, 4 . pp. 295-312. ISSN 2167-9495

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Abstract

Over the years there has been growing interest regarding the effects of climatic variations on marine
biodiversity. The exclusive economic zones of South Pacific Islands and territories are home
to major international exploitable stocks of albacore tuna (Thunnus alalunga); however the impact
of climatic variations on these stocks is not fully understood. This study was aimed at determining
the climatic variables which have impact on the time series stock fluctuation pattern of albacore
tuna stock in the Eastern and Western South Pacific Ocean which was divided into three
zones. The relationship of the climatic variables for the global mean land and ocean temperature
index (LOTI), the Pacific warm pool index (PWI) and the Pacific decadal oscillation (PDO) was investigated
against the albacore tuna catch per unit effort (CPUE) time series in Zone 1, Zone 2 and
Zone 3 of the South Pacific Ocean from 1957 to 2008. From the results it was observed that LOTI,
PWI and PDO at different lag periods exhibited significant correlation with albacore tuna CPUE for
all three areas. LOTI, PWI and PDO were used as independent variables to develop suitable stock
reproduction models for the trajectory of albacore tuna CPUE in Zone 1, Zone 2 and Zone 3. Model
selection was based on Akaike Information Criterion (AIC), R2 values and significant parameter
estimates at p < 0.05. The final models for albacore tuna CPUE in all three zones incorporated all
three independent variables of LOTI, PWI and PDO. From the findings it can be said that the climatic
conditions of LOTI, PWI and PDO play significant roles in structuring the stock dynamics of
the albacore tuna in the Eastern and Western South Pacific Ocean. It is imperative to take these
factors into account when making management decisions for albacore tuna in these areas.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Albacore Tuna; Thunnus alalunga; Global Mean Land and Ocean Temperature Index; Pacific Warm Pool Index; Pacific Decadal Oscillation; Catch per Unit Effort
Subjects:	Q Science > Q Science (General) > Q1-295 General Q Science > QH Natural history Q Science > QH Natural history > QH301 Biology
Divisions:	School of Agriculture, Geography, Environment, Ocean and Natural Sciences (SAGEONS)
Depositing User:	Ashneel Singh
Date Deposited:	13 Nov 2025 21:59
Last Modified:	13 Nov 2025 21:59
URI:	https://repository.usp.ac.fj/id/eprint/15174

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