Commercial catch and discards of pelagic longline fishery of Reunion Island based on the self-reporting data collection program

Pelagic longline fishery activities of Reunion Island are monitored since 2011 by the self-reporting data collection program (SRP) that covered 12% of the total fishing effort in 2011-2012. Fishermen report in SRP various informations on fishing locations, gear used, catch, discards and depredation. We used these data to assess the levels and distribution of commercial catch and discards between mid-2011 and mid-2013. We found that the catch per unit of effort (CPUE) of swordfish (target species) has decreased since 2011 as long as the overall profitability of this fishery including other commercial species and taxa: yellowfin tuna, bigeye tuna, albacore tuna, dolphinfish and billfish. Discards were mostly blue sharks (38%), pelagic stingrays (24%) and a generic group of very long fish usually called snooks by fishermen (20%). In this context of overall decrease of fishery profitability, fishing on the east coast of Madagascar between July and September still remains a profitable strategy while byctach rate of discards is reasonably low. Albacore tuna season occurring the last quarter of the year also remains profitable with high albacore CPUE levels near Reunion Island and below average rate of discarded bycatch.