Title: Remote sensing and geographic information system for pelagic fishing ground forecasting in north Icelandic waters

Fishing ground forecasting is gaining popularity in the fishing industries of many countries around the world. The managers of these fisheries want to know the status of the exploited fish stock and fishing grounds in order to optimise efforts and maintain sustainable commercial fisheries. Among the commercial marine species, small pelagic fish like sardine, jack mackerel and anchovy, are limited in their distribution by their temperature tolerance and by food availability, and they are in many ways, the most predictable fish species because of their behaviour. At the present time, modern technologies such as remotely sensed images obtained from aircraft and satellites, enable the gathering of information about the climatic characteristics and productivity of large areas of the oceans in a short time and at relatively low cost. The present project involves several objectives and phases to meet the goal of developing a Geographic Information System (GIS) and Remote Sensing (RS) -based fishing ground forecasting in north Icelandic waters, with the intention of providing the basis for a sustainable fisheries in the area.