Spatio-temporal evolution characteristics of Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) fishing ground in the northern waters of Antarctic Peninsula based on spatial autocorrelation model

Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) is a key species of Antarctic marine ecosystem and the main fishing object of Antarctic fishery, whose fishing ground has significant temporal and spatial distribution characteristics. In order to clarify the changes of krill fisheries in the northern waters of the Antarctic Peninsula, based on the statistical data of E. superba fisheries in China from 2010 to 2020, this study analyzed the temporal and spatial distribution characteristics of krill fisheries in this water area by using the global Moran's I index and hot spot analysis. The results showed that the spatial distribution of krill catches in the northern waters of the Antarctic Peninsula evolved from dispersion to concentration, and with gradual transition from the north of the South Shetland Islands (SSI) to the Bransfield Strait (BS), with high values distributed along the land. The high value of catch per unit effort (CPUE) mainly occurred in the north of SSI and the side near the Antarctic Peninsula in BS, which was distributed along the land. The krill fisheries in the northern waters of the Antarctic Peninsula showed significant spatial aggregation from 2010 to 2020, and the spatial autocorrelation in 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018 and 2020 was relatively weak. The temporal and spatial evolution characteristics of hot spots and cold spots in the distribution of krill fishing grounds were obvious. The hot spots gradually migrated from the north of SSI to BS, the north of SSI gradually changed from hot spots to cold spots, and the BS gradually changed from cold spots to hot spots. This study discussed the temporal and spatial distribution characteristics of krill fishery, which could not only provide a scientific basis for further research on krill population distribution and fishery formation mechanism, but also provided basic data for improving the production efficiency of krill fishery.