Catch Trends of Tropical Tunas by Malaysian Tuna Longliners in the Indian Ocean, 2013 - 2017

Malaysian tuna fisheries had started with tropical tuna fishing since 2005. Malaysian tuna longline vessels were fishing in waters off Madagascar and southwards since the 3rd quarter of 2011. However, in 2012, Malaysia tuna longline vessels had shifted their operation from tropical tuna to albacore tuna fishing. The main species been caught for tropical tunas by Malaysian tuna longliners are Yellowfin tuna, big eye tuna and skipjack.
From 2013 to 2017, catches of tropical tunas (comprised of Yellowfin tuna, big eye tuna and skipjack) by Malaysian tuna longliners ranged from 279.94 to 1172.90 tonnes with the average 770.92
363.90 tonnes. In 2017, landing of Yellowfin tuna was decreasing to 60% compare to 2013, meanwhile for bigeye tuna, 60% greater than 2013 landing. Meanwhile, the landing data for skipjack was just started since 2017. The catch trend and species composition during this period have been figured. From the current trend show there was a high demand of these species due to its high quality value for the market.