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Overview of Indian Ocean albacore fisheries

Reference:

IOTC-2022-WPTmT08-04

File:

IOTC-2022-WPTmT08AS-04-_Data.pdf

Type:

Meeting documents

Year:

2022

Meeting:

Working Party on Temperate Tuna (WPTmT)

Meeting session:

802

Availability:

21 July 2022

Authors:

IOTC Secretariat

Abstract:

The Indian Ocean (IO) represents ~15% of the global catch of albacore (Tunnus alalunga)
Annual catches of IO albacore have steadily increased since the 1950s to reach ~40,000 t in recent years
Industrial longline fisheries contribute to the bulk of albacore catch in the IO
Longline fisheries are dominated by Taiwan,China, followed by China, Japan, Malaysia, and Seychelles
Longline catches are distributed all over the IO with high concentrations in the southwest in recent years
Catches from artisanal fisheries have increased over time, reaching about 20% of all albacore catch in 2020
Most artisanal catches of albacore come from line fisheries operating along the coasts of Indonesia
Indonesian coastal fisheries catches are however estimated by the IOTC Secretariat and highly uncertain
Overall levels of albacore discards are considered to be small or negligible in most fisheries
Information available on fishing grounds and size composition is considered to be of good quality
Size data show that smaller fish are found at high latitudes while larger individuals occur in tropical areas
Albacore average weight in the catch has decreased from >20 kg in the 1950s to ~15 kg in the late 1990s
In recent years, albacore average weight has been fairly stable, fluctuating around 17.7 kg

Tags:

albacore

canning

longline fisheries

Indian Ocean