Seychelles tuna bulletin : second quarter 1996
Data used to generate the tables and figures presented here are based on daily catch and effort forms (logbooks) returned from fishing vessels which are licensed to fish in the Seychelles EEZ. Sometimes there is a delay in these being received at SFA, especially during and just after the second quarter of the year when most vessels are fishing in the Mozambique Channel. Readers should be aware that many of the figures presented here (especially the most recent) are subject to revision (usually upwards) as more data become available. The date upon which the SFA database was closed prior to the generation of the statistical tables is shown at the head of each table. Purse seiners Principal Points - The total purse seine tuna catch for the Western Indian Ocean in 1995 is now 307,135t. This is a lower figure than what was reported in the previous edition of the SFA's Tuna Bulletin. This was caused by an overestimation of catch (661 t) for the Spanish fleet. However, this is still the highest catch reported since record began. The previous highest recorded catch was 280,114 t in 1994. However, while the 1994 catch was the product of an average of 51 vessels licensed per month at an annual CPUE of 20.21t/fishing day, the 1995 catch was the result of an average of 52 vessels licensed per month at an annual CPUE of 21.27t/fishing day. The highest annual CPUE on record was recorded in 1992 at 22.27t/fishing day. - Some 2,471 days were fished in the second quarter of 1996 compared to 3,400 days for the equivalent period of 1995. The efforts recorded for the second quarter of 1996 are some 929 days short of that recorded for the same period in 1995. However, we expect that this gap will narrow down once all log books for fishing activities between January to June 1996 have been received at the SFA. - The catch within the second quarter of 1996, based on the available logbooks, was 39,873t. This comprised of 12,283t (31%) yellow fin (Thunnus albacares) and 22,713t (57%) skipjack (Katsuwonus pelamis). The remaining 4,877t (12%) was mainly big eye (Thunnus obesus) and albacore (Thunnus alalunga). This compares with the catch within the second quarter of 1995 when some 16,534t (26%) of yellow fin was caught, together with 37,404t (58%) of skipjack and 10,261t (16%) of big eye and albacore. - Readers should be well aware that the catch compositions given here are NOT based on scientific sampling but on the assessment of the fishermen who write the daily catch and effort reports and who decide into which group fish should be placed. They may be biased. - The CPUE within the second quarter of 1996 was 16.13t/fishing day compared to 18.88t/fishing day in the equivalent quarter of the previous year. - It should be noted that the figures in Table 3 (Purse seiner transshipment statistics by harbour of transshipment) represent the transshipments of vessels whose trips ENDED in the month indicated and NOT the actual month of physical transshipment of the catch. - Transshipments through Victoria amounted to 16,625t in the second quarter of 1996. This is an increase of 11% compared to the figures obtained in the second quarter of 1995, when 14,989t of tuna were transshipped. Records from the past indicate that the months of April to June, are the quietest period for transshipment in Port Victoria. - During the second quarter of 1996 most of the fishing activities had shifted to the Mozambique Channel and the western half of the Western Indian Ocean. This is characteristic of the fishing fleet following the fish on their migration route. Longliners Readers should be aware that these statistics only represent a small sample of longliner activity in the W10 because: - Not all longliners fishing in the WIO have a license to fish in the Seychelles EEZ and therefore are under no obligation to report to SFA. - Not all those with a Seychelles license provide daily log sheets especially the Taiwanese and the Koreans. - Some Distant Water Fishing Nations (DWFN) provide SFA with log sheets covering their activity in the whole Indian Ocean while others confine their reports to the Seychelles EEZ. The statistics published for 1995 are related to only 22 logbooks received at the date of publication of this bulletin. For 1995, 292 licenses were issued. For the first 6 months of 1996, 10 logbooks have been received to date and 59 licenses were issued. This underlines the poor and very slow reporting rate of longliners in general. When more data will be available, these statistics will be revised. Analysis of data collected to date show that: - A fishing effort of 1,156,773 hooks for a total catch of 874 MT has been recorded for the first 6 months of 1996. The mean CPUE for the same period was 0.76t/1000 hooks. The mean CPUE by nationality was: 0.82t/1000 hooks for the Japanese, 0.51t/1000 hooks for the South Koreans, 0.59t/1000 hooks for the Taiwanese and 0.69t/1000 hooks for the French fleet. - Yellowfin (Thunnus albacares) comprised 64% of the total catch, Bigeye (Thunnus obesus) comprised 23% and other species comprised 13%. - The principal fishing areas for the second quarter of 1996 were located: at the northern and north-eastern part of the Seychelles EEZ (see map no. 4).
| Other Authors: | |
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| Format: | Other biblioteca |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
1996
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| Subjects: | Purse seiners, Catch statistics, Tuna fisheries, |
| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/1834/5190 |
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