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Longline, Troll and Driftnet Catch Rates of

South Pacific Albacore

Oceanic Fisheries Programme South Pacific Commission

Sixth South Pacific Albacore Research Workshop Working Paper No. 2

Rarotonga, Cook Islands March 5 - 7 , 1996

2

LIST OF TABLES

1. Longline catches of South Pacific albacore 3

2. Surface fishery catches of South Pacific albacore 5

3. Longline catch rates for South Pacific albacore 7

4. Longline catch rates for South Pacific albacore by area 8

5. Surface fishery catch rates for South Pacific albacore 8

LIST OF FIGURES

1. Longline catches of South Pacific albacore 9

2. Surface fishery catches of South Pacific albacore 9

3a. Longline catch rates for South Pacific albacore, north of 10°S 10

3b. Longline catch rates for South Pacific albacore, between 10°S and 30°S 10

3c. Longline catch rates for South Pacific albacore, south of 30°S 11

4. US troll catch rates for South Pacific albacore 11

5. Albacore catch by Australian longliners during 1994 12

6. Albacore catch by Fijian longliners during 1994 12

7. Albacore catch by French Polynesian longliners during 1994 12

8. Albacore catch by Japanese longliners during 1993 13

9. Albacore catch by Korean longliners during 1993 13

10. Albacore catch by New Caledonian longliners during 1994 13

11. Albacore catch by Taiwanese longliners during 1993 14

12. Albacore catch by Tongan longliners during 1993 14

13. Albacore catch by US trailers during the 1994/95 season 14

14. Distribution of longline catch rates for South Pacific albacore during 1993 15

15. Distribution of US troll catch rates for South Pacific albacore during the 1994/95 season 15

1

INTRODUCTION

Estimates of annual catches of South Pacific albacore by longline, troll and driftnet fleets are presented in Tables 1 and 2 and are illustrated in Figures 1 and 2. Estimates of annual catches for asian longline fleets in recent years are, in most cases, provisional.

Annual catch rates for South Pacific albacore are given in Tables 3, 4 and 5, and are illustrated in Figures 3a, 3b, 3c and 4. Catch rates were determined from data held in the SPAR Database (see Working Paper 1, SPAR 6).

The distribution of catches of South Pacific albacore by fishing fleet are illustrated in Figures 5-13. Catches for the most recent fishing period covered by data held in the SPAR Database are shown. Catches in numbers offish, by calendar year for longliners and by season for troll vessels, are plotted by 5° square. A circle of 5° radius represents a catch of 80,000 fish or more for troll vessels, and 100,000 fish or more for longliners. The area of circles of less than 5° radius is proportional to the ratio of the catch in the 5° square to the catch represented by a circle of 5° radius.

The distribution of catch rates for the longline fisheries during 1993 and the US troll fishery during the 1994/95 season are illustrated in Figures 14 and 15, respectively; a circle of 5° radius represents a catch rate of 4 fish per 100 hooks for longliners, and 440 fish per day for troll vessels.

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4

Table 1 sources continued

French Polynesia

Japan

Korea

New Caledonia

New Zealand

Taiwan

Tonga

Other

EVAAM (Yen and Stein). Catch estimates for 1993 and 1994 were obtained from Lawson (1995).

NRIFSF, Fisheries Agency of Japan (Uozumi). The provisional catch estimate for 1993 was determined from aggregated data provided to SPC by Fisheries Agency of Japan. The provisional catch estimate for 1994 was carried over from 1993.

NFRDA (Uk Lee). Estimates for 1958-1987 were taken from the report of SPAR 2; these estimates include some catch from the North Pacific. Catch estimates for 1988—1991 for the entire Pacific Ocean were provided by NFRDA (Uk Lee). These were adjusted to reflect the proportion of albacore catch taken annually in the South Pacific for 1984—1987. The provisional catch estimates for 1992 and 1993 were determined from aggregated data (unraised) provided by NFRDA for the SPAR area; the estimate for 1993 has been carried over for 1994.

Marine Marchande (Etaix-Bonnin). Catch estimates prior to 1987 were determined from logbook data held at SPC.

Catch estimates for 1989-1992 provided by Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries at SPAR 5 (Murray, 1993). Catch estimates for 1993-1994 obtained from Lawson (1995).

National Taiwan University. Wang (pers. comm. Apr 19, 1993, July 27, 1993) provided estimates for 1967-1991. Catch estimates for 1992 and 1993 were obtained from aggregated data provided by the National Taiwan University (Hsu) for the SPAR area. The catch estimate for 1994 has been carried over from 1993.

Ministry of Fisheries (Latu). Albacore catch estimates were derived by applying the species composition determined from daily logsheet data held in the SPC Regional Tuna Fisheries Database to estimates of the total annual catch for all species combined provided by the Ministry of Fisheries. Catch estimates for 1990-1992 obtained from the daily logsheet, provided by the Ministry of Fisheries. Catch estimates during 1993-1994 were obtained from Lawson (1995).

Catches estimates of other fleets that have not been described in this table. For 1993 these include vessels from Western Samoa (17 mt), and for 1994, the Cook Islands (New Zealand) (25 mt), Western Samoa (17 mt) and the United States (78 mt) (Lawson, 1995).

5

Table 2. Surface fishery catches (mt) of South Pacific albacore

YEAR

1960

1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969

1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979

1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989

1990 1991 1992 1993 1994

FR POL.

AUSTRALIA CHILE TROLL

100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100

100 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 50

50 50 100 44 50

90

359 326 72 45

..

JAPAN

P/L

45

16

19 8 1 2

49 0 0

JAPAN

DRIFTNET

1 1 1

4 13

5

32 ,581 ,928 ,936 919 271 263

667 0 0 0 0

KOREA

DRIFTNET

172

0 0 0 0 0

TAIUAN

DRIFTNET

1,000 8,520

1,859 821 0 0 0

NZ TROLL

898 646 25 621

1,686 814

1,468 2,085 2,434 744

2,773 3,253 1,911 1,227 330

5,161

2,525 2,464 3,856 3,856 4,400

USA TROLL

3 3

3 5 3 1

89 859 ,339 ,563

,758 494 016 028 575

OTHER

TROLL

170 192

30 133 133 ... ...

TOTAL

1

1 2 2

4 5 3 3 9 31

14 9 7 4 5

45 0 0 16 0 0 0 0 0 0

100 100 100 100 998 746 125 721 ,786 914

,587 ,143 ,485 828 ,404 ,231 ,986 055 ,160 011

248 288 226 973 025

Provis ional estimates are shaded

SOURCES

Australia Bureau of Resource Sciences (Caton). Incidental catches of albacore in the Southern bluefin pole-and-line fishery declined after 1980. Recreational fishery catches from 1982 are estimated to be about 50 mt. Catches during 1992 include 55 mt taken by commercial trailers. Catch estimates for 1993 and 1994 taken from logbook data (unraised), provided by AFMA.

Chile The FAO Yearbook, Fishery Statistics, Vol. 76 (1993) does not provide a breakdown for albacore catch, although lists the following catches for 'tuna-like fishes' : 27 mt for 1988, 102 mt for 1989, 308 mt for 1990, 210 mt for 1991, 32 mt for 1992 and 134 mt for 1993.

French Polynesia EVAAM (Yen) provided catch estimates for years including and subsequent to the 1990/91 season. US - National Marine Fisheries Service (Sakagawa) provided estimates for season 1989/90.

Japan National Research Institute of Far Seas Fisheries (Uozumi).

6

Table 2 sources continued

Korea National Fisheries Administration (Kim). The estimate presented for the 1989 calendar year represents the catch during the 1988/89 season, during which one vessel was active.

Other U.S. - National Marine Fisheries Service (Sakagawa). "Other Troll" includes catches by Canadian and Fijian trailers. The estimate for 1991 has been used as the provisional estimate for 1992. Includes estimate of 30 mt each year since 1988 for the artisanal fishery in the Easter Islands. SPC (Labelle).

Taiwan National Taiwan University (Hsu). Catch estimates are for the fishing season, e.g., the estimate presented for the 1988 calendar year represents the catch during the 1987/88 season. The catch estimate for the 1987/88 season was estimated by the OFP and reported to SPAR 3. The estimate for 1988/89 was determined from catch and effort data processed by the National Taiwan University (Hsu). Estimates for the 1989/90 and 1990/91 seasons were reported to SPAR 4 by the National Taiwan University (Wang).

New Zealand Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries (Murray). Catch estimates are for the fishing season, e.g., the estimate for the 1974 calendar year is the catch during the 1973/74 season. The figure for 1991/92 season includes a provisional estimate of 700 mt albacore catch in the STCZ. Catch estimate for 1994 provided by MAF (Jones). Catch estimate for 1993 carried over from 1992.

United States National Marine Fisheries Service (Sakagawa and Coan). Catch estimate for 1994 taken from NMFS Tuna Newsletter, Issue 114, August 1994, Southwest Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, La Jolla, California.

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35,000

30,000

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f 20,000

m 15,000

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Year

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10

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3.000

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No

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2.000

1.500

1.000

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0.000 >o oo o oo co o o o* o* s

Year

Figure 3a. Longline catch rates for South Pacific albacore, north of 10°S

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11

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Year

Figure 3c. Longline catch rates for South Pacific albacore, south of 30°S

350.00

300.00

250.00

' 200.00

o 150.00 d z

100.00

50.00

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1993/1994 1995/1996

Figure 4. US troll fishery catch rates for South Pacific albacore

12

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Figure 5. Albacore catch by Australian Iongliners during 1994

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Figure 6. Albacore catch by Fijian Iongliners during 1994

Figure 7. Albacore catch by French Polynesian Iongliners during 1994

13

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Figure 8. Albacore catch by Japanese longliners during 1993

Figure 9. Albacore catch by Korean longliners during 1993

Figure 10. Albacore catch by New Caledonian longliners during 1994

14

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Figure 11. Albacore catch by Taiwanese longliners during 1993

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Figure 12. Albacore catch by Tongan longliners during 1993

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Figure 13. Albacore catch by US trollers during the 1994/95 season

15

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Figure 14. Distribution of longline catch rates (no./lOO hooks) for South Pacific albacore during 1993

Figure 15. Distribution of US troll catch rates (no./day) for South Pacific albacore during the 1994/95 season