EMIS - Favourable spawning habitat of adult Atlantic bluefin tuna (ABFT) Monthly 2003-2014 (frequency of occurence, %)

The favourable spawning habitat of the Atlantic bluefin tuna is daily identified linking their ecological traits with environmental variables from satellite remote sensing and physical ocean models. The spawning habitat (Atlantic bluefin tuna only) is essentially detected through the seasonal heating of surface waters. Adult bluefin tunas migrate thousands of kilometres to spawn in warmer and less productive waters (Mediterranean Sea and Gulf of Mexico) compared to their main feeding ground (North Atlantic Ocean). The physical variables used are sea surface temperature, monthly increase of sea surface temperature, sea surface current and sea surface height anomaly. More information: https://fishreg.jrc.ec.europa.eu/fish-habitat, Peer-reviewed publication: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0079661116000070