Reliable estimation of IUU fishing catch amounts in the northwestern Pacific adjacent to the Japanese EEZ: Potential for usage of satellite remote sensing images

To establish an estimation procedure for reliable catch amount of illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, light-gathering fishing operations in the northwestern Pacific were analyzed based on the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) day/night band (DNB) data provided by the Suomi National Polar Partnership (SNPP) satellite. The estimated fishing activities were compared with the navigation tracks of vessels obtained from the automatic identification system (AIS). As a model case, the fishing activities of Chinese fishing boats using fish aggregation lights outside the Japanese EEZ in the northwestern Pacific were analyzed from mid-June to early-September 2016. Integration analyses of VIIRS DNB data and AIS information provided reliable data for estimating the fishing activities of Chinese fishing boats and suggested the importance of estimating fish carrier ship movements. The total amount of the chub mackerel (Scomber japonicus) catch during this period was independently estimated from three angles: 1) the fishing capacity of the fishing boats, 2) the freezing capacity of refrigeration factory ships and 3) the fish hold capacity of the fish carrier ships, based on information obtained from interviews with Chinese fisheries companies. These estimates indicated that the total amount of mackerel catch by Chinese fisheries was more than 80% of the allowable biological catch (ABC) of Japan in this area in 2016. This suggests that Pacific high seas fishing has a significant impact on the future of fish abundance. Our proposed procedure raises the possibility of evaluating the fishing impact of some forms of IUU fisheries independently from conventional statistical reports.