TRACKING GLOBAL FISHERIES FROM SPACE: PATTERNS, PROBLEMS, AND PROTECTED AREAS by Kristina Boerder Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Dalhousie University Halifax, Nova Scotia August 2018 © Copyright by Kristina Boerder, 2018 “If there is magic on this planet, it is contained in water.” Loren Eisele This thesis is dedicated to all the teachers in my life, past, present, and future, who help me discover the wonders around me. First and foremost, my parents and my family. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................................................. VIII LIST OF FIGURES .............................................................................................................................................. IX ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................................................................ XII LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS USED............................................................................................................... XIII ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................................................. XVI CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................... 1 State of global fisheries .............................................................................................................................. 1 Biological effects of fisheries ................................................................................................................... 2 Monitoring of global fishing fleets ....................................................................................................... 3 Assessing MPA effectiveness .................................................................................................................. 4 Developing a new monitoring tool ....................................................................................................... 5 Structure of thesis ....................................................................................................................................... 7 Statement of Co-Authorship ................................................................................................................... 8 Data accessibility ......................................................................................................................................... 9 CHAPTER 2 IMPROVING FISHING PATTERN DETECTION FROM SATELLITE AIS USING DATA MINING AND MACHINE LEARNING .......................................................................................... 10 Abstract ......................................................................................................................................................... 10 Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 11 Materials and Methods ........................................................................................................................... 12 Data Sets .................................................................................................................................................. 12 Definition of Fishing Activity by Gear Type ................................................................................. 14 Trawler .................................................................................................................................................. 14 Longliner .............................................................................................................................................. 14 iii Purse seiner ........................................................................................................................................ 15 Data Labeling and Pre-processing ................................................................................................. 15 Algorithm Testing ................................................................................................................................. 16 Data Analysis ......................................................................................................................................... 20 HMM and Observation Variable Choice for Trawlers ........................................................ 20 Data Mining Approach for Fishing Detection of Longliner .............................................. 21 Filtering Approach for Purse Seiner Fishing Detection ..................................................... 24 Results ........................................................................................................................................................... 25 Trawler ...................................................................................................................................................... 25 Longliner ................................................................................................................................................. 28 Purse Seiner ........................................................................................................................................... 30 Discussion .................................................................................................................................................... 33 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................................... 37 Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................................. 38 Author Contributions .............................................................................................................................. 38 CHAPTER 3 INTERACTIONS OF TUNA FISHERIES WITH THE GALÁPAGOS MARINE RESERVE ............................................................................................................................................................ 39 Abstract ........................................................................................................................................................ 39 Introduction ................................................................................................................................................ 40 Materials and Methods .......................................................................................................................... 45 Study area ............................................................................................................................................... 45 Data Sources .......................................................................................................................................... 45 IATTC observer, FAD, and stock assessment data .............................................................. 45 AIS data ............................................................................................................................................... 46 iv Data Analyses ........................................................................................................................................ 47 IATTC observer data ....................................................................................................................... 47 FAD data ............................................................................................................................................. 48 AIS data ............................................................................................................................................... 49 Results ........................................................................................................................................................... 49 IATTC observer data ............................................................................................................................ 49 AIS data .................................................................................................................................................... 54 FAD data .................................................................................................................................................. 55 Discussion .................................................................................................................................................... 58 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................................... 62 Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................................. 63 Author Contributions .............................................................................................................................. 63 Appendix A ................................................................................................................................................. 64 CHAPTER 4 INTERACTIONS OF LARGE-SCALE MARINE PROTECTED AREAS AND GLOBAL FISHERIES .........................................................................................................................................................