EU - National Report 2019

SUMMARY
The EU fleet fishing in the waters of the Indian Ocean is composed of two main segments.
The first is an offshore segment including
 Purse seiners métiers targeting the three species of tropical tunas
o Data 2018:
 27 active vessels
 35.777 m³.j transport capacity
 5.585 searching days and 6.243 days at sea
 293.277 t of catch
 • YFT 26,7 %
• SKJ 62,2 %
• BET 10,7 %
 Longliners targeting swordfish with significant associated catches of some pelagic
shark species
o Data 2018
 16 active vessels
 4.213 * 106 hooks
 7.628 t of catch
 • SWO 41,9 %
 • BSH 43,2 %
 SMA 8,5 %
 Longliners targeting swordfish with significant associated catches of tunas (La
Réunion)
o Data 2018
 19 active vessels (≥12m)
 3,300 * 106 hooks
 1.282 t of catch
 • SWO 42,0 %
• YFT & BET 32,0 %
• ALB 15,0 %
The second is a coastal segment, comprising vessels of less than 12 m fishing for and
harvesting large pelagic species and associated species, some of which use anchored fish
aggregating devices (AFADs) around Mayotte and Reunion Island the two outermost
regions of the European Union of the Indian Ocean. This coastal segment corresponds to
the following métiers:
 Longliners
o Data 2018
 21 vessels at Reunion Island (<12 m)
 0,688 * 106 hooks
 407 t of catch
o SWO 35,4 %
o YFT & BET 28,0 %
o ALB 16,0 %
 3 vessels at Mayotte Island
 70 fishing days

 111,6 *103 hooks
 75,7 t of catch (SWO-YFT-BET)
 Trolling line and hand-lines
o Data 2018
 Reunion :131 vessels
 12.925 fishing days
 781,2 t of catch (YFT-BUM-DOX 76%)
 Mayotte : 141yoles in the formal professional sector,
400 boats and 794 canoes in the non-professional sector
(2016 data; 2017 N/A). Total production estimated at
1.044 t in 2018 (2,050 t in 2006 and between 965 and
1421 t in 2013/2016). The provisional estimate for 2018,
only for professional boats, is 217t against 646 t in 2017.
The fishing capacity of the EU fleet authorized to deploy a fishing activity for large
pelagic species in the IOTC Convention Area is governed by provisions on capacity limits
set out in the IOTC Resolution and by European Union legislation.
Furthermore, the conditions of access to certain fishing areas in waters under the
jurisdiction of coastal states of the South West Indian Ocean are subject to specific
provisions defined in public agreements engaging the European Union and called
Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreements (SFPA).
In accordance with IOTC Resolution 15/02, flag EU Member States (Spain, France, Italy,
Portugal and United Kingdom) have submitted scientific data characterizing the activity
of the EU fleet fishing in 2018 in the IOTC area of competence, and enabling the IOTC
Scientific Committee to conduct its work.