Tuna resource exploration with longline in the South China Sea, Area III: Western Philippines

An exploratory tuna longline fishing survey was conducted using the research and training vessels of the Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center, the 1,178 GT MV SEAFDEC and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, the 165 GT MV MAYA-MAYA in the South China Sea Waters, West of the Philippines from April to May, 1998. A total of 3,796 hooks was set in sixteen (16) fishing stations. There were no tuna caught during the entire survey but only minor and irrelevant species like the Pacific lancetfish, sharks and an opah species, Lampris guttatus. The important fishing and oceanographic factors during the survey and other research results on longline are described and analyzed. Additional longline studies within and near the Philippines territorial waters are also presented to substantiate the research results of the joint SEAFDEC/BFAR resource exploratory.