Fish-aggregating-devices are viable for ocean model currents verification

We have leveraged the rapid growth of satellite-tracked drifting fish-aggregating-devices used by the fishing industry to evaluate their potential as ocean observing systems. Ocean currents derived from fish-aggregating-devices were compared with those from the Australian Bureau of Meteorology’s global ocean forecast system and the Global Drifter Program in the Western Central Pacific Ocean. Using the Lagrangian modeling framework OceanPARCELS, we assessed the model’s ability to reproduce fine-scale circulation features. Our analysis revealed a strong correlation between fish-aggregating-devices speeds and observed currents both from drifter buoys and modeled currents from the forecast system. These findings demonstrate the value of fish-aggregating-devices as a complementary observational platform for verifying global ocean forecast systems. Their large numbers and broad spatial coverage offer a key advantage over the relatively sparse drifter buoy network, enhancing the resolution and reliability of ocean current observations in data-sparse regions.