In order to determine the favourable oceanographic conditions which influence fish aggregation areas, the integration of remote sensing and GIS technique was applied. This paper aims to classify the spatial distribution and abundance of R. kanagurta in the South China Seas (SCS) using principal component analysis (PCA) and cluster analysis (CA). Remotely-sensed satellite oceanographic data of chlorophyll-a concentration (chl-a), sea surface temperature (SST) and sea surface height (SSH) together with high catch fish data were used to characterize seasonal abundance of the R. kanagurta. PCA identified two principal components that had eigenvalues >1 (PC1 and PC2) which accounted for 59.3% of the cumulative variance. Factor loading in the PCA proved that all environmental variables used in this study; chl-a (PC1), SSH and SST (PC2) had influenced the CPUE of R. kanagurta. Using CA, two clusters of CPUE abundance were identified. In cluster 1, an average CPUE of 350.7 kg/m³ with highest catch were recorded in January, April, May, July and October. Meanwhile, in cluster 2, an average CPUE of 1033.9 kg/m³ with highest catch were recorded in April, May, September and October. Preferred range for fish aggregations showed SST, SSH and chl-a were observed in between 29-31°C, 1.12-1.28 m and 0.24-0.42 mg/m 3 , respectively. Binary habitat suitability index was used to model the potential aggregation areas. The highest potential fish aggregations areas of R. kanagurta were found located along the coast of Peninsular Malaysia in early and late Southwest monsoon (at accuracy of 83.68% with kappa of 0.7). ABSTRAKIntegrasi antara data penderiaan jauh dan teknik GIS diaplikasi bagi menentukan keadaan oseanografi yang mempengaruhi kawasan pengumpulan ikan. Objektif dalam kajian ini adalah untuk mengelaskan taburan reruang dan kelimpahan R. kanagurta di Laut China Selatan menggunakan analisis komponen prinsipal (PCA) dan analisis kelompok (CA) serta mengenal pasti perhubungan antara taburan ikan dengan keadaan persekitaran. Hubungan antara data taburan klorofil-a (chl-a), suhu permukaan laut (SST) dan ketinggian permukaan laut (SSH) daripada satelit penderiaan jauh serta taburan tangkapan R. kanagurta digunakan untuk mengenal pasti hubungan taburan musiman ikan pelagik. PCA mengenal pasti dua komponen prinsipal yang mempunyai nilai eigen >1 (PC1 dan PC2) dengan nilai peratus kumulatif varians adalah 59.3%. Faktor penentuan dalam komponen prinsipal menunjukkan bahawa parameter persekitaran mempengaruhi data tangkapan ikan. CA menunjukkan dua kelompok tangkapan ikan dengan kelompok 1, nilai purata tangkapan ikan sebanyak 350.7 kg/m³ dengan catatan tangkapan ikan tertinggi pada bulan Januari, April, Mei, Julai, September dan Oktober. Manakala, di dalam kelompok 2, nilai purata tangkapan ikan sebanyak 1033.9 kg/m³ dengan catatan tangkapan ikan tertinggi pada bulan April, Mei, September dan Oktober. Julat kesesusaian cerapan pengumpulan ikan bagi SST, SSH dan chl-a didapati pada suhu 29-31°C, 1.12-1.28 m dan 0.24-0.42 mg/m³. Kawasan be...

The Indian mackerel (Rastrelliger kanagurta) is one of the most commercially crucial epipelagic scombrid where it is caught in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) off the South China Sea (SCS). High demand for fisheries resources is a challenge for fishers to achieve optimal fish landing targets. By using R. kanagurta catch data, and high resolution satellite data of chl-a and SST (MODIS-Aqua) and SSH (AVISO) from 2018 together with boosted regression tree (BRT) model, this study aims to determine the impact of sea surface temperature (SST) increase on the potential catch of R. kanagurta based on temperature projection of IPCC-AR5-RCPs scenarios. BRT modelling result indicated that during the northeast monsoon (NEM), at elevated temperature of 1.80 and 2.60 ℃ showed that the potential fishing grounds of R. kanagurta increase in the area especially in the northern part of the EEZ. However, at elevated temperature of 3.30 ℃, the potential fishing areas was found to decrease along the coast of Peninsular Malaysia. Meanwhile, during southwest monsoon (SWM) and inter-monsoon transition, at temperature rise of 1.80, 2.60 and 3.30 °C showed a significant reduction in the potential fishing area of the R. kanagurta potential fishing grounds especially along the coast of the EEZ off SCS. Results indicated that changes in SST influenced suitability of habitat which affected the distribution of R. kanagurta. Understanding the impacts of temperature increase would contribute towards future sustainable fisheries resource management strategies.