for years researchers have been using
aircraft and satellites to produce
information rich views of our planet
it's called remote sensing and although
the science is not new its applications
continue to grow image processing
software called alas developed at NASA's
Stennis Space Center in Mississippi is
now being used to manage and conserve
fish populations in the Gulf of Mexico
these maps of sea surface temperatures
allow researchers at the National Marine
fishery service to predict where certain
species of fish should be on a given day
this capability is a much-needed tool
for scientists working aboard NOAA
vessels like the Chapman fishing is a
major industry
and information collected during these
research missions is used to set
critical catch limits the temperature
maps accessible with a standard personal
computer on the ship make it easier to
locate and sample fish being studied
reducing search time saves man-hours and
fuel and being able to gather data
faster make setting catch limits more
precise when changes in surface
temperatures are too subtle to be manned
a specially equipped NASA concentrations
of chlorophyll in coastal waters the
same boundaries between water types used
to locate fish can be found with these
displays as well with the help of
businessmen like Mike Frenette the
technology is now being moved into the
marketplace as with all charter bull
donors fur nets livelihood depends upon
finding fish for his customers
information such as what this program
has to offer it gives me more time to
fish versus trial and error trying to
locate the fish reducing search times
would also save larger commercial
fishing operations thousands of dollars
in fuel costs savings which could in
turn be passed on to consumers and
according to oceanographer John Brooks
the danger of overfishing will not be
any greater as long as the demand is
there they are going to spend the time
and the effort in the fuel to find that
fish and their livelihood depends on a
long-term fishery not just to load the
boat today and so it's readily
understood throughout the fish community
we have a beautiful natural resource
here and it's up to us to govern that
resource
locating fish from above using NASA
software to manage an important natural
resource
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