Shark Depredation and Unwanted Bycatch in Pelagic Longline

Shark Depredation and Unwanted Bycatch in Pelagic Longline Fisheries
Table A4.1. Characteristics of the Italian small-scale and large-scale longline (drifting and set) fleet, by geographic area, 2004 (IREPA, 2006).
Area Vessels % GT % TSL % kW % TSL
mean
GT
mean
Sicily 317 56 9,267 81 7,777 80 54,112 69 25.0 29
Adriatic, Ionian 137 24 1,512 13 1,154 12 15,295 19 8.4 11
Tyrrhenian 115 20 706 6 760 8 9455 12 6.6 6
Total 569 100 11,485 100 9,691 100 78,861 100 17.0 20
Table A4.2. Italian small-scale and large-scale pelagic and demersal longline fleet: fishing days, catches, revenues, and price, 2004 (IREPA, 2006).
Total values Average values/vessel Average values/day
Days Catch (t) Revenue million Days Catch (t) Revenue (000) Catch (kg) Revenue Price /kg
Sicily 52,084 6,761 64 153 20 187 130 1,226.46 9.45
Adriatic 2,440 648 4 51 14 81 266 1,585.81 5.97
Ionian 13,229 921 6 142 10 65 70 457.96 6.58
Tyrrhenian 20,835 966 9 177 8 80 46 451.64 9.74
Total 88,588 9,296 83 148 15 139 105 939.37 8.95
Table A4.3. Number of all Italian vessels using drifting pelagic longline gear and total number of fishing vessels, by coast, 1997-1999 (UNIMAR, 2001).
Ligurian Tyrrhenian Adriatic Ionian Sicilian Sardinian Italian
Coast high med low high med low
DLL vessels 7 24 191 54 2 8 28 15 1,066 124 1,519
Total vessels 698 788 743 1,933 1,358 3,444 1,379 826 3,277 1,147 15,593
more than two centuries, so Sicilians are specialized in fishing with
this kind of gear. Target species are swordfish (54% of total catches),
Northern bluefin tuna and albacore (IREPA, 2006).
In 1997, UNIMAR consortium took up a census of all fishing
companies for the Italian Ministry of Agricultural Politics. From
1999 to 2000, data from fishing licences and official statistics,
recording generic “multiple use” fishing, have been improved with
interviews to fishermen, to settle the actual use of each fishing gear
(UNIMAR, 2001). According to UNIMAR census, 15,593 vessels
were active in Italy in 1997. In 1999 there were an estimated 1,519
pelagic drifting longline vessels (9.7%) (Table A4.3).
The number of large-scale vessels fishing for tuna and swordfish with
longline gear has changed over the past few years. For examples,
the number of large vessels authorized for fishing with longline
decreased from 31% in 1997 to 20% in 2005 (government data from
Port authorities of Marsala, 2006).
A4.3. Fishing Gear
The mainline is made of braided polyamide (nylon) filament, while
the branch lines are made of polyamide monofilament. Council
Regulation (EC) 1626/1994 established a 60 km limit for the length of
main lines for longline vessels. Swordfish vessels begin to set gear in
the late afternoon by hand (no mechanization), the gear soaks during
the night and is hauled with a line hauler.
In the area investigated, the colour of both main a branch lines, vessel
power, trip length and fishing days, vary among vessels.
Tables A4.4a and A4.4b include information on plagic longline gear
characteristics from the literature, while Table A4.4c is based on
information obtained from interviews.
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