Book of Abstracts & Lead Articles The Second International Symposium Remote Sensing for Ecosystem Analysis and Fisheries

SAFARI (Societal Applications in Fisheries and Aquaculture using Remotely-Sensed Imagery) is an initiative which provides a forum for coordination, at the international level, of activities in global fisheries research and management. The forum is open to all interested parties, including policy makers, research scientists, government managers, and those involved in the fishing industries. SAFARI organizes international workshops and symposia as a platform to discuss the latest research in Earth observation and fisheries management, information sessions aimed at the fisheries industry, government officials and resource managers, representation at policy meetings, and producing publications relevant to the activities. SAFARI gains worldwide attention through collaboration with other international networks, such as ChloroGIN (Chlorophyll Global Integrated Network), IOCCG (International Ocean-Colour Coordinating Group), POGO (Partnership for Observation of the Global Oceans) and the oceans and society: Blue Planet Initiative of the intergovernmental organization, the Group on Earth Observations (GEO)

Spectral signature of phytoplankton pigments and their significance to remote sensing.

The absorption spectra of phytoplankton are characterized by a continuous envelope, which is a result of the overlapping spectra of the individual pigments. These spectral signatures of phytoplankton are useful tools to identify the major light harvesting pigments characteristic for each taxonomic groups, through remote sensing over a variety of temporal and spatial scales. The present study embodies the spectral signatures of monoculture of five taxonomic groups of phytoplankton, in acetone extract as well as in the intact cell suspensions. These spectral signatures of known taxonomic groups are compared with the spectral signatures of phytoplankton collected from the west coast of India onboard FORV Sagar Sampada during January 2003. Spectral signatures of monoculture of phytoplankton showed striking similarity within the taxonomic groups such as Nanochloropsis and Chlorella and considerable difference between different taxa. The spectral signature of phytoplankton collected along the southwest coast of India indicate the predominance of diatoms and green algae in southern latitudes (Wadge bank to Ponnani) and the Cyanophyta and Chlorophyta groups in the northern latitudes (beyond 12° N to 14° N). Levels of silicate also indicate the latitudinal difference registering 511% increase (5.36 // M / I) in the southern latitudes. The spectral signature of bloom noticed off Jamnagar, Gujarat coast (21° N, 64° E) indicated the predominance of single species, whereas the stations eastward to the bloom station had complex signatures indicating the presence of diverse groups of phytoplankton. The quantitative information generated in this study on the basic hydrographical parameters, dissolved nutrients and pigments are the valuable sea truth data for the validation of remotely sensed data on phytoplankton distribution and bloom characteristics. The results of this study are useful tool for creating pigment libraries for identification of phytoplankton groups, detection of blooms and for detecting the health of coastal ecosystem

Seasonality in carbon chemistry of Cochin backwaters

Seasonality in carbon chemistry of Cochin backwaters, Southern India, was investigated between 2018 and 2019. Dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) showed strong seasonal variations. Lowest DIC was observed during the Southwest Monsoon (SWM), in conjunction with low salinity in surface waters, suggesting strong freshwater influence. The maximum concentration of partial pressure of carbon dioxide in water (pCO 2w) was recorded from polluted waters of Vembanad Lake (16,000 atm). Excluding the SWM, the inner most stations (freshwater) showed lower pCO 2w levels compared with the outermost (estuarine) ones. With regard to sampling stations, all the environmental properties, except silicate and phosphate, exhibited significant variation, pointing to large spatial heterogeneity across the stations. Redundancy analysis suggested salinity to be inversely related to surface pCO 2w. High pH and low pCO 2w observed in some of the inner most stations indicates role of pH in carbonate speciation. Our study indicates large seasonal fluctuation in biogeochemical parameters and strong heterogeneity between individual stations which therefore necessitates development of local biogeochemical models for better understanding of carbon budget in these waters

Effect of Mariculture on bio-optical properties and water quality of Gulf of Mannar and Palk Bay

Marine cage aquaculture is gaining importance in India, due to its contribution as an alternate livelihood to coastal communities and also because of its export value. Water quality is the most important determinant for sustainable marine cage farming. Nutrient enrichment in coastal waters results in increased occurrence of algal blooms. A mariculture practice makes the coastal waters eutrophic due to increased input of nitrogen and phosphorous, ultimately leading to bloom. A phytoplankton bloom dominated by Trichodesmium species was detected outside mariculture cages located in Gulf of Mannar during August, 2015, which possibly interfered with fish gill function. High nutrient and chlorophyll a (Chl-a) (29.97 mg/m3) concentration were observed during peak bloom period. Three groups of phytoplankton were identified — diatoms (24 species with, 14 centric species and 10 pennate species), dinoflagellates (10 species) and cyanobacteria (one species). Stable salinity condition and the depletion in nutrient concentration due to higher primary production might have triggered the bloom of Trichodesmium. In-situ bio-optical measurements were also made to understand the spatial and temporal variation and effect of bloom on the optical components. Our study is a preliminary step to understanding the in-situ bio-geochemical and bio-optical characteristics of coastal waters of Gulf of Mannar and Palk Bay, which could aid in the management of cage culture sites

Heavy metal toxicity in the estuarine, coastal and marine ecosystems of India

The term "metal" designates an element which is good conductor of electricity and whose electric resistance is directly proportional to the absolute temperature (Wittmann, 1979). In addition to this distinctive characteristic, metals share several other typical physical properties such as high thermal conductivity, high density, malleability and ductility. Several non-metallic elements exhibit one or more of these properties, so that the only feature that defines a metal unambiguously is the electric conductivity which decreases with increasing temperature. Within a given period the properties of the elements vary gradually from a high electropositive (metallic) character at the left-hand side of the series to the highly electronegative (nonmetallic) character at the end of the series. The "metalloids" (or half metals) such as boron, silicon, germanium, arsenic and tellurium are balanced in the Periodic Table between metals and non-metal

Environment and Forecasting

Studies on the characteristics of the marine environment are important in fisheries research as the conditions in the sea play a major role in the availability of fish. The fluctuations in the physical, chemical and biological oceanographic conditions have a profound influence on the periodic and seasonal migration of fishes in the sea. Research at CMFRI has strived to understand how these mechanisms work and how knowledge can be incorporated into the management and conservation of the nation’s marine living resources

Effect of freshwater influx on phytoplankton in the Mandovi estuary (Goa, India) during monsoon season: Chemotaxonomy

The Mandovi estuary is a prominent water body that runs along the west coast ofIndia. It forms an estuarine network with the adjacent Zuari estuary, connected via the Cumbharjua canal. The physico-chemical conditions seen in the Mandovi estuary are influenced by two factors: the fresh water runoff during the monsoon season (June-September) and the tidal influx of coastal seawater during the summer (October to May) season. However, the effects of monsoon related changes on the phytoplankton of the Mandovi estuary are not yet fully understood. An attempt to understand the same has been made here by applying the process of daily sampling at a fixed station throughout the monsoon season. It was noticed that the onset of the monsoon is responsible for an increase in nitrate levels upto 26 μM from <1 μM during pre-monsoon and enhancement of chlorophyll a (chl a) as high as 14 μg·L-1 during the same period. The phytoplankton population was observed through both chemotaxonomy and microscopy and was found to be composed mainly of diatoms. CHEMTAX analysis further uncovers the presence of several other groups of phytoplankton, the presence of which is yet to be reported in many other tropical estuaries. It includes chrysophytes, cyanobacteria, prasinophytes, prymnesiophytes and chlorophytes. The appearance of phytoplankton groups at various stages of the monsoon was recorded, and this data is discussed in relation to environmental changes in the Mandovi estuary during the monsoon season

Details of Speakers The Second International Symposium on Remote Sensing for Ecosystem Analysis and Fisheries 15-17 January 2018 Organised by ICAR-Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute, Kochi, India

Details of Speakers The Second International Symposium on Remote Sensing for Ecosystem Analysis and Fisheries 15-17 January 2018 Organised by ICAR-Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute, Kochi, Indi

Course Manual Winter School on Structure and Functions of Marine Ecosystem: Fisheries

Marine ecosystems comprises of diverse organisms and their ambient abiotic components in varied relationships leading to an ecosystem functioning. These relationships provides the services that are essential for marine organisms to sustain in the nature. The studies examining the structure and functioning of these relationships remains unclear and hence understanding and modelling of the ecological functioning is imperative in the context of the threats different ecosystem components are facing. The relationship between marine population and their environment is complex and is subjected to fluctuations which affects the bottom level of an ecosystem pyramid to higher trophic levels. Understanding the energy flow within the marine ecosystems with the help of primary to secondary producers and secondary consumers are potentially important when assessing such states and changes in these environments. Many of the physiological changes are known to affect the key functional group, ie. the species or group of organisms, which play an important role in the health of the ecosystem. In marine environment, phytoplankton are the main functional forms which serves as the base of marine food web. Any change in the phytoplankton community structure may lead to alteration in the composition, size and structure of the entire ecosystem. Hence, it is critical to understand how these effects may scale up to population, communities, and entire marine ecosystem. Such changes are difficult to predict, particularly when more than one trophic level is affected. The identification and quantification of indicators of changes in ecosystem functioning and the knowledge base generated will provide a suitable way of bridging issues related to a specific ecosystem. New and meaningful indicators, derived from our current understanding of marine ecosystem functioning, can be used for assessing the impact of these changes and can be used as an aid in promoting responsible fisheries in marine ecosystems. Phytoplantkon is an indicator determining the colour of open Ocean. In recent years, new technologies have emerged which involves multidisciplinary activities including biogeochemistry and its dynamics affecting higher trophic levels including fishery. The winter school proposed will provide the insights into background required for such an approach involving teaching the theory, practical, analysis and interpretation techniques in understanding the structure and functioning of marine ecosystems from ground truth measurements as well as from satellite remote sensing data. This is organized with the full funding support from Indian council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) New Delhi and the 25 participants who are attending this programme has been selected after scrutiny of their applications based on their bio-data. The participants are from different States across Indian subcontinent covering north, east, west and south. They are serving as academicians such as Professors/ scientists and in similar posts. The training will be a feather in their career and will enable them to do their academic programmes in a better manner. Selected participants will be scrutinized initially to understand their knowledge level and classes will be oriented based on this. In addition, all of them will be provided with an e-manual based on the classes. All selected participants are provided with their travel and accommodation grants. The faculty include the scientists who developed this technology, those who are practicing it and few user groups who do their research in related areas. The programme is coordinated by the Fishery Resources Assessment Division of CMFRI. This programme will generate a team of elite academicians who can contribute to sustainable management of marine ecosystem and they will further contribute to capacity building in the sector by training many more interested researchers in the years to come

A Few Thoughts on Marine Fisheries-Related environmental aspects and analysis (TH 132_D.Sc)

Rhythm studies of marine plants and animals together with environmental conditions are important for future development of forecasting techniques of marine living resources. studies on the situations of upwelling are the most attractive from the physical/fishery oceanographic point of view of the waters around India. New techniques of rhythm studies relevant to the practical conditions of rhythmicity in nature are developed and the utilities of such techniques are pointed out. The snag is pointed out in the classical explanation of upwelling which is based on Ekman's mathematical coastal model of vertically spiralling currents. New projections are made on upwelling and mudbank formation in the coastal waters