Sea temperature in waters West of Viti Levu were 1.5° Celsius higher in October, says the Fiji Meteorological Service.
In its ocean’s outlook issued last week, Fiji Met said the sea surface temperatures (SSTs) were above normal in most of the Fiji waters during October 2020, with significantly warmer than usual waters to the West of Viti Levu.
“Above normal SSTs are predicted in most of the Fiji waters during December 2020, January 2021 and February 2021,” said FMS.
The weather office said monitoring warm patches of ocean gave insight into the potential for cyclone formation, and the possible start or finish of the cyclone season.
Fiji Met said high concentration of chlorophyll was observed close to land masses of the Western Division and Northern parts of Vanua Levu during September 2020.
“Chlorophyll concentration can be of great interest to fishermen targeting smaller pelagic (open sea) fish.
“High concentration of chlorophyll can also provide indication of potential hazardous conditions near the coast from reef fish diseases, such as ciguatera, harmful algal blooms, and outbreak of crown of thorns starfish, which is a coral eating pest.”
