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Corporate Author
Seychelles Fishing AuthorityDate
1996
Metadata
Показать полную информациюAbstract
Data used to generate the tables and figures presented here are based on daily catch and effort forms (‘logbooks’) returned from fishing vessels which are licensed to fish in the Seychelles EEZ. Sometimes there is a delay in these being received at SFA, especially during and just after the second quarter of the year when most purse seiners are fishing in the Mozambique Channel. The long liners are generally slow in returning logbooks. Readers should be aware that many of the figures presented here (especially the most recent) are subject to revision as more data become available. The date upon which the SFA database was closed prior to the generation of the statistical tables is shown at the head of each table. Purse seiners Principal Points - The total purse seine tuna catch for the Western Indian Ocean in 1995 is now 280,314t. This is the highest catch reported since record began. The previous highest recorded catch was 280,114t in 1994. However, while the 1994 catch was the product of an average of 51 vessels licensed per month with an annual CPUE of 20.21t/fishing day, the 1995 catch was the result of an average of 52 vessels licensed per month at an annual CPUE of 22.00t/fishing day. The highest annual CPUE on record was recorded in 1992 at 22.27t/fishing day. - Some 12,744 days were fished in 1995 compared to 12,610 in 1994. However, the effort recorded for both 1994 and 1995 are still below the 1993 level when a total of 14,368 fishing days were recorded. The decrease is mainly due to the lack of Japanese effort in the fishery: decreasing from 2,029 days in 1993 to only 19 days in 1994 and zero for the whole of 1995. Despite the decrease in total effort the catch has continued to increase although the CPUE has fallen below the level of the two previous years. - The cumulative catch by the 31st December 1995 was 280,314t compared to 280,114t by the same date in 1994. Not all logbooks for 1995 have yet been received at the SFA. - The catch within the fourth quarter of 1995, based on the available logbooks, was 63,011t. This comprised of 23,659t (38%) yellow fin (Thunnus albacares) and 31,380t (50%) skipjack (Katsuwonus pelamis). The remaining 7,972t (12%) was mainly big eye (Thunnus obesus) and albacore (Thunnus alalunga). This compares with the catch within the fourth quarter of 1994 when some 18,095t (23%) of yellow fin was caught, together with 50,030t (64%) of skipjack and 9,713t (13%) of big eye and albacore. - Readers should be well aware that the catch compositions given here are NOT based on scientific sampling but on the assessment of the fishermen who write the daily catch and effort reports and who decide into which group fish should be placed. They may be biased. - Within the fourth quarter of 1995 2,625 days were fished compared to 3,585 days in the equivalent quarter of the previous year. - The CPUE within the fourth quarter of 1995 was 24.00t/fishing day compared to 21.70t/fishing day in the equivalent quarter of the previous year. - It should be noted that the figures in Table 3 (Purse seiner transshipment statistics by harbour of transshipment) represent the transshipments of vessels whose trips ENDED in the month indicated and NOT the actual month of physical transshipment of the catch. - Transshipments through Victoria amounted to 67,611t in the fourth quarter of 1995. This is an increase of almost 5% compared to 67,431t in the fourth quarter of 1994. - Compared to the fourth quarter of 1994 more fishing activities were recorded in the fourth quarter of 1995 in the eastern side of the SWIO, around the Chagos Archipelago. This shift in fishing activities from the Somali Basin in the third quarter to the Chagos area in the fourth quarter is the more usual trend. Longliners Readers should be aware that these statistics only represent a small sample of longliner activity in the WIO because: - Not all longliners fishing in the WIO have a license to fish in the Seychelles EEZ and therefore are under no obligation to report to SFA. - Not all those with a Seychelles license provide daily log sheets especially the Taiwanese and the Koreans. - Some Distant Water Fishing Nations (DWFN) provide SFA with log sheets covering their activity in the whole Indian Ocean while others confine their reports to the Seychelles EEZ. For 1995 only 20 logbooks nave been received to date, out of 292 licenses issue. For 1994, 79 logbooks were returned, out of 222 licenses issued. This underlines the poor and very slow reporting rate of longliners in general. When more data will be available, these statistics will be revised. Analysis of data collected show that: - Longliner activity in the Seychelles' EEZ has been taking place during 8 months: from January to March and from August to December with a maximum of licenses issued in November and December 1995. - A fishing effort of 2.3 million hooks for a total catch of 1415 MT has been recorded, to date for 1995, compared to 17.9 million hooks for a total catch of 2828 MT in 1994. The mean CPUE recorded for 1995 was 0.62 kg/h/day, compared to 0.38 kg/h/day for 1994. The mean CPUE by nationality was: 0.69 kg/h/day for the Japanese, 0.32 kg/h/day for the South Koreans, and only 0.24 kg/h/day for the Taiwanese. - Yellow fin (Thunnus albacares) comprised 49% of the total catch for 1995 in 1994 it represented (48%) and big eye (Thunnus obesus) comprised 38% (37% in 1994). - Two principal fishing areas for 1995 were located: 1. at the eastern part of the Seychelles EEZ 2. between the equator and 10° south and between 60° and 70° east.Pages
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