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Longline vessels have an average of 30 meters in length, 161 of TRB and 576 CV. A total of 11 longliners operated in the IOTC area during the year 2020. The catch of the target species, swordfish was of 1,602 t and other important species were 2,766 t of sharks, 76 t of tunas, 40 t of billfish and 41t of other fish species. The Observers Program of the General Fisheries Secretariat launched in 2017 covered less fishing effort than in previous years due to the covid-19. The at-sea sampling program of longline fishery coordinated by the IEO was suspended in 2020, due notably to administrative problems and to a lesser extend to covid-19. At-sea sampling program is hired by IEO through call for tenders addressed to specialized companies. The public tender launched in 2019 (to start in 2020) was declared void, having to be re-launched again. This second launch was delayed as a result of the paralysis of public activity during the state of alarm due to the covid-19 pandemic, and could only be reopened in june-july. Given that the process of awarding the contract by public tender takes three-four months under normal conditions, it was finally resolved in December 2020 and signed in January 2021. Since then all activities have been resumed.
Concerning to purse seiners, apart from the pandemic, there are two main factors affecting the data reported: i) from 2010 to 2013 the observation was stopped owing to the uncertainty caused by Somali piracy, though a few trips could be covered in 2009 and 2014; and ii) ending the third quarter of 2019 a new vessel has joined the Spanish freezer fleet. This recent addition has increased the carrying capacity by more than 2400 t.
The performance of the 2020 fishing trips has been driven by two underlying events:
1)Order APA/93/2020, which regulates the exercise of fishing for yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares)under the Spanish flag, during the 2020 campaign (Bulletin Official of the Spanish State "BOE" No.31, of February 5, 2020).
2)COVID19 global pandemic.
