Dynamic analysis of night fishing vessels in the Yellow Sea based on VIIRS-DNB data

VIIRS/DNB satellite nighttime light image was used as the data source for studying the dynamics of fishery vessels. A total of 719 nighttime light images were recorded in the Yellow Sea in 2016. We designed a new method to extract the light point information of the nighttime operation vessels in the Yellow Sea. Analysis of the lighting points in combination with the China-Korea Fishery Agreement Area and the Yellow Sea area fishery division. The results show that the seasonal distribution change of fishery lights is significant, and the number of fishing boats in the four seasons shows the trend of autumn> spring> summer> winter. The number of light points is the largest in South Korea's waters, followed by China's side waters, and that in the waters in China and South Korea agreement zone is the smallest. Combined with the light point density map, the Korean side waters have higher intensity and wider distribution range in autumn, while other seasons have moderate intensity, and high-grade agglomeration areas are distributed in coastal waters all year round; the Chinese side waters have lower intensity in summer and winter, higher intensity in spring and autumn, and the overall intensity of the year is low but the distribution is broad. The number of light points in both sides has obvious seasonal patterns, and the proportion of light points decreased by 86.9% during the closed fishing season. Therefore, it is inferred that most of the light points identified in this study are fishery vessels, which can be used to provide reference for night fishing activities.