Seychelles tuna bulletin : second quarter 1989

The number of purse seiners active in the Western Indian Ocean during the second quarter of 1989, remained at 47 in April and May, dropping to 46 in June. This represents a significant increase in the number of vessels compared to same period last year, when an average of 38 vessels were in operation. Fishing results obtained during the second quarter were mediocre compared to the exceptionally high catches made at the beginning of the year. Record catch rates averaging 26 mt/day during the first quarter dropped from 20 mt/day in April to a mere 9 mt/day in May. These results are however not unusual for this time of the year. Daily catch rates for the second quarter averaged 16 mt/day, reaching the same level as in 1987, whereas 18 mt/day was reported during the same period in 1988. The proportion of yellow fin in the catch remained low at 30% in April, 20% in May and recovering slightly in June (47%). The fishing pattern was transitional during the second quarter as was the case last year. In the past vessels operated south of the Seychelles EEZ, in the Mozambique Channel during this period where excellent skipjack catches were made. This year only part of the fleet shifted south to the Mozambique Channel during April/May but later moved north, due to poor fishing results. This seasonal change in tuna availability was most probably due to changes in oceanographic conditions. As determined from seiner logbooks received by the 30th of June 1989, the cumulative catch by purse seiners in the Western Indian Ocean for 1989 not stands at 99,945 tones.

Tuna statistic, longliners