Source: Netawek Ikjikum Vol. 4 – Issue 4 March 2009
By MAARS CDIL Brett Bancroft
The waters of the Gulf of St. Lawrence (right) are midnight blue in this Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) image from the Aqua satellite on July 2, 2003. South of Nova Scotia (center), however, bright blue swirls in the water suggest a bloom of marine organisms, perhaps a kind of phytoplankton called a coccolithophore, a single-celled plant whose chalky white covering can cause the water to appear bright blue.
(Photo and article taken from NASA http://visibleearth.nasa.gov/view)
On March 13, 2009, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, MAARS Director Roger Hunka, IKANAWTIKET facilitator Joshua McNeely, N.S. CARDA Franz Kesick, N.B. CARDA Barry LaBillois and MAARS CDIL Brett Bancroft were at the Bedford Institute of Oceanography to learn about the SAFARI PROJECT – societal applications in fisheries & aquaculture using remotely-sensed imagery (SAFARI).
With Satellite technology today scientists are able to determine Sea surface temperature (SST) through Sea surface colour (SSC) as well as other important characteristics of the ocean and the ocean support of aquatic resources. This information can be used to determine possible fishing grounds, spawning areas, fish routes, sea depth and sea floor crustaceans and so forth.
The Primary objective of the SAFARI Project is to integrate the activities of selected experts in fisheries and Earth Observation (EO) to accelerate the pace of assimilation of EO into fisheries research and ecosystem-based fisheries management on a world scale. SAFARI will also help to build capacity at the science level and the operational level, and facilitate the application of rapidly evolving satellite technology to fisheries management questions. (from www.geosafari.org)
During the information session we heard from Dr. Marie-Hélène Forget who discussed how Japan and India are using remote sensing in their respective fisheries. Dr. Trevor Platt who heads the project gave a brief history of the satellites they are using today and where this technology is going in the future. Shubha Sathyendranath, discussed the practical benefits of remote sensing. Alida Bundy, discussed remotely sensed ecosystem indicators and ecosystem approaches to fisheries management. Peter Koeller, showed the relationship between shrimp egg hatch and phytoplankton bloom times and Nick Dulvy, discussed climate change and its effect on phytoplankton blooms.
