Tuna longline fishing around West and Central Pacific seamounts [EB IP04] T. Morato, et al.

By: Contributor(s): Material type: ArticleArticleLanguage: ENG Publication details: [Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia] Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) 2009Description: 19 p. 30 cm. ill., tables, maps, graphsSubject(s): DDC classification:
  • 639.27783
Online resources: Summary: "This study used tuna longline logbook data to look for higher catch rates of tuna species close to seamounts, to identify those seamounts with significantly higher catches, and to quantify the seamount contribution to Pacific Ocean tuna catch. We found that a significant number of seamounts throughout the Pacific Ocean are targeted by tuna longline fleets. Adopting some conservative assumptions, this study concluded that at least 5-10% of the seamounts in the Pacific show significantly higher CPUE values for at least one tuna species and that seamounts may be responsible for an annual longline catch of as much as 25 thousand tons for three species combined. This study identified at least 43-69 seamounts that exhibit increased yellowfin fishing yields in the Pacific, 30-61 that increased bigeye catches and 27-69 that increased albacore catches. Seamounts enhancing tuna yields were found throughout the study area with a great proportion lying within national EEZs. This study did not show clear temporal changes on the seamount potential to enhance fisheries yields over the period from 1965 to 2007. Furthermore, our analyses showed increased proportions of the longline catch being taken from seamounts in recent years. Seamount aggregations, areas as well as any other aggregation points such as FADs, atolls or islands, may lead to hyperstability of catch rates caused by tuna shoaling behavior and range contraction during stock declines and should be carefully accounted for in any analysis of spatial catch rate data."
Item type: Meeting Paper
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Holdings
Current library Call number Status Date due Barcode
SPC Special Collections SPC 639.277 83 WES 2009 Available

"WCPFC-SC5-2009/EB IP-04"

Includes bibliographical references (p. 9-11)

"This study used tuna longline logbook data to look for higher catch rates of tuna species close to seamounts, to identify those seamounts with significantly higher catches, and to quantify the seamount contribution to Pacific Ocean tuna catch. We found that a significant number of seamounts throughout the Pacific Ocean are targeted by tuna longline fleets. Adopting some conservative assumptions, this study concluded that at least 5-10% of the seamounts in the Pacific show significantly higher CPUE values for at least one tuna species and that seamounts may be responsible for an annual longline catch of as much as 25 thousand tons for three species combined. This study identified at least 43-69 seamounts that exhibit increased yellowfin fishing yields in the Pacific, 30-61 that increased bigeye catches and 27-69 that increased albacore catches. Seamounts enhancing tuna yields were found throughout the study area with a great proportion lying within national EEZs. This study did not show clear temporal changes on the seamount potential to enhance fisheries yields over the period from 1965 to 2007. Furthermore, our analyses showed increased proportions of the longline catch being taken from seamounts in recent years. Seamount aggregations, areas as well as any other aggregation points such as FADs, atolls or islands, may lead to hyperstability of catch rates caused by tuna shoaling behavior and range contraction during stock declines and should be carefully accounted for in any analysis of spatial catch rate data."