The continuous, synoptical and high spatio-temporal resolution of thermal and visible satellite observations constitute an asset when characterizing and monitoring biogeochemical cycles in the oceans. In particular, they provide a unique insight into the hydrodynamics of the surface ocean and phytoplankton phenology. This information can be combined with in-situ observations of higher trophic levels to understand the functioning of the marine ecosystem, with potential use for fisheries and aquaculture. In the Gulf of Maine, off the eastern seaboard of North America, Georges Bank is one of the world's most productive natural sea scallop (Placopecten magellanicus) fisheries, which sustains economically valuable fisheries in Canada and the US. In Canada, the relationship between the scallop meat weight and its shell height (known as scallop condition) is used to obtain biomass estimates for stock assessment and thereby influences the fishing quotas. On Georges Bank, for a 100 mm shell height scallop, scallop condition has varied significantly interannually between 10.2 g and 19.5 g. Establishing a relationship between environmental factors and scallop condition would improve the forecasting of scallop biomass and reduce the uncertainty when determining the total allowable catch for the subsequent fishing season. In this study, satellite remote-sensed sea-surface temperature (SST) and chlorophyll-a concentration (Chla) coupled with in-situ measurements of scallop condition (SC) on Georges Bank were used to assess the relationship between SC and satellite-derived environmental conditions between 1985 and 2019 for SST and between 1998 and 2019 for Chla. The inter-annual variation of SC in May was found to be positively correlated (p-value <0.001) with the variation in SST in winter-spring months of the current and previous year of the SC survey. An empirical linear model for the estimation of SC was developed and validated using two independent datasets of satellite SST (r² = 0.64, MAPD = 7%). Another model using cumulative SST in the previous year only was also provided (r² = 0.58, MAPD = 7.7%), which could serve as an alternative choice when the SST products in the current year are not yet available for use. There was a weak relationship observed between SC and Chla; this is likely due to the influence of water-column vertical mixing on transport of phytoplankton to the benthic zone where the sea scallop resides. Our study indicates that a cost-effective satellite-derived SST product can be used to improve predictions of SC and provide useful information and decision support tools for managing scallop stocks.

在表征和监测海洋中的生物地球化学循环时，对热和可见卫星观测的连续，同理和高时空分辨率是一项资产。特别是，它们提供了对表层海洋的水动力和浮游植物物候学的独特见解。可以将这些信息与更高营养级别的原位观测相结合，以了解海洋生态系统的功能，并有可能用于渔业和水产养殖。在北美洲东部沿海的缅因州海湾，乔治银行是世界上生产力最高的天然扇贝之一（Placopecten magellanicus）渔业，在加拿大和美国维持着具有经济价值的渔业。在加拿大，扇贝肉重量与其壳高之间的关系（称为扇贝条件）用于获取生物量估计值以进行种群评估，从而影响捕捞配额。在Georges Bank上，对于壳高为100 mm的扇贝，扇贝状况每年在10.2 g和19.5 g之间变化很大。建立环境因素与扇贝状况之间的关系将改善扇贝生物量的预测，并在确定随后捕鱼季节的总允许捕捞量时减少不确定性。在这项研究中，卫星遥感海表温度（SST）和叶绿素a浓度（Chl a）加上原位对乔治银行扇贝条件（SC）的测量被用来评估1985和2019之间SC和来自卫星的环境条件之间的关系为SST和叶绿素1998和2019之间一个。研究发现，5月份SC的年际变化与SC调查的当年和前一年的冬春月的SST变化呈正相关（p值<0.001）。使用两个独立的卫星SST数据集（r ²  = 0.64，MAPD = 7％），开发并验证了用于估计SC的经验线性模型。还提供了仅在上一年使用累积SST的另一种模型（r ² = 0.58，MAPD = 7.7％），当当年尚无法使用SST产品时，可以作为替代选择。有SC和叶绿素之间观察到弱的关系一个; 这很可能是由于水柱垂直混合对浮游植物向扇贝居住的底栖区域的运输的影响。我们的研究表明，可将具有成本效益的卫星SST产品用于改善对SC的预测，并为管理扇贝种群提供有用的信息和决策支持工具。