Influence of weather condition on pelagic fish landings in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia

Abstract

It is a widely held belief that meteorological conditions have impact on fish landing, leading us to find out how they affect the abundance and diversity of fishes in Kota Kinabalu throughout the year. Monthly fish landings for Kota Kinabalu were studied together with the available meteorological data for the past 11 years. Results indicate that the highest abundance of fish landing was in 2007 with 42,974 tonnes and 11 major species. In contrast, 2009 recorded the lowest fish landings with 27,397 tonnes and eight major species. From the monsoon aspect, the highest average abundance of 4,969 tonnes with 10 major species of fishes was recorded during the Southwest monsoon. During the Northeast monsoon and the Inter monsoon period, fish landings of 3,365 tonnes with 10 major species and 3,152 tonnes with nine major species were recorded, respectively. The prominent fish species during the study period were Ilisha elongata, Nemipterus sp. and Sardinella albella. The correlation between pelagic fish landings with rainfall, temperature, wind and Southern Oscillation Index (SOI) values suggested that the abundance and diversity of fishes were believed to be sensitive to weather parameters. Results indicate that the correlation coefficient between rainfall and fish landings is +0.60 with rainfall leading by two months. Also, fish landings and temperature are correlated with a correlation coefficient of +0.76 with temperature leading by three months. However, a negative correlation (with correlation coefficient of -0.83) between SOI values and fish landings is found when two months before fish landings increase, the SOI values become low or negative. It is not only meteorological conditions during monsoon periods that affect fish landings in Kota Kinabalu, but also the influence of ENSO (El Niño Southern Oscillation).