Statistics of the French purse seine fishing fleet targeting tropical tuna in the Indian Ocean (1981-2019)

This document presents an up-to-date summary of the French purse seine fleet targeting tropical tunas in the Indian Ocean. The statistics cover the period 1981-2019 and specifically focus on the activity of the last year of the fishery. In 2019, a total of 15 French vessels operated in the eastern Indian Ocean including 12 purse seiners and 3 supplies. The total capacity weighted by the months of activity for each vessel is 10724t. The total nominal effort in 2019 was of 2501 fishing days and 2561 sets with 1918 sets on floating objects and 643 on free schools. The total catch of the French component of the EU purse seine fleet of the Indian Ocean was 70622t, being composed of 38.5%, 55.7%, 5.5% and 0.3% of yellowfin tuna, skipjack tuna, bigeye tuna and other species respectively. The most noticeable change in 2019 was the decrease of the percentage of the number of sets on floating object with 75% in comparison with 90% in 2018. This change in the fishing strategy led to a reporting of the catches on free school despite a global decrease (-17%). Remarkably, skipjack proportion in free school became important (37%) since 2018.