E - Iccat

SCRS PLENARY SESSIONS 1 TO 8
Uruguay
In 2010 fishing effort in the tuna fleet was reduced. The majority of the vessels were less than 27 m in length and
target mainly swordfish and tunas. The total catch (preliminary) landed and reported in 2010 was approximately
654 tons.
Various activities were carried out in 2010 related to statistics, research and management. Some of these
activities are carried out jointly with other national and international institutions. In 2010, independent research
continued on board the DINARA research vessel to collect more detailed information on the pelagic oceanic
species, experiments on mitigation measures, etc.
The research was carried out mainly on information from the Observers Programme (PNOFA) and during 2010
data obtained on the research vessel were integrated. PANOFA covered part of the activity of the national fleet
in 2010 and 100% of the deep longline fleet. The tagging program continued and approximately 100 fish were
tagged. Uruguay collaborated in various inter-sessional meetings presenting papers for the stock assessments and
the data preparatory meetings (bigeye tuna, blue marlin, sharks, ecosystems, etc.).
Besides, various studies were carried out on biology, genetics, by-catch mitigation, among others, for many of
the species under ICCAT mandate. The ICCAT Shark Identification Guide was completed and work was started
on the second volume of the Guide.
In 2010, a survey project was continued to determine the possibility of bigeye tuna fishing in Uruguayan waters.
This fishing was carried out by Japanese vessels which had 100% coverage by Uruguayan observers.
Venezuela
The Venezuelan fleet that fished in the Atlantic targeting pelagic resources was comprised of 69 industrial
vessels in 2010: 53 longliners, 8 purse seiners and 8 baitboats. Besides, 35 artisanal vessels were registered that
fish using driftnets. This year, landings of tunas and tuna-like species in the Atlantic Ocean amounted to 8,437 t.
Of these, 98.2% were tunas, among which the most important species was yellowfin tuna (T. albacares) with
56.7%, while skipjack tuna (K. pelamis), black skipjack (T. atlanticus) and bigeye tuna (T. obesus) catches
amounted for 25,1%, 3.9% and 3.4% of the catch, respectively. The by-catch was comprised of billfishes,
notably sailfish (Istiophorus albicans) with 2.1% and blue marlin (Makaira nigricans) with 1.6% and sharks
whose landings represented 1.7%. The majority of the landings (61.2%) are from the purse seine fishery, 12.9%
from baitboat, 22.5% from longline and 3.3% from the artisanal fisheries. In 2010 research continued on the
fishery for large pelagic species, including tunas, billfishes and sharks. The program of scientific observers on
board industrial longline vessels continued as did the coverage of the sport fishing tournaments along the central
coast of Uruguay.
− Cooperating Parties, Entities or Fishing Entities
Chinese Taipei
In 2010, the total number of longline vessels authorized to operate in the Atlantic Ocean was 117, which
included 67 vessels authorized to target bigeye tuna and 50 vessels authorized to target albacore. The total catch
of tuna and tuna-like species of the longline fleet was estimated to be 31,007 metric tons (t) in 2010. Tropical
tunas (bigeye tuna, 13189 t and yellowfin tuna, 824 t) were the most dominant species caught accounting for
45% of the total catch, and albacore (12,562 t) accounted for 41%. The Fisheries Agency has set catch quotas for
Atlantic bigeye tuna, northern and southern Atlantic albacore, and for by-catch species, namely swordfish, blue
marlin and white marlin. Catches of these species were well below catch limits allocated by the ICCAT for 2010.
All Chinese Taipei longline vessels operating in the Atlantic Ocean were equipped with satellite tracking devices
(Vessel Monitoring System, VMS) on board. Statistics (fleets characteristics/Task I/Task II/size/observer bycatch
data) were submitted to the ICCAT Secretariat within the required timeframe. In 2010, 18 observers were
placed on fishing vessels in the Atlantic Ocean, and the observer coverage was above the requirement set by
ICCAT. The research programs for 2010 conducted by scientists included stock assessments, standardizations of
catch-per-unit-effort on bigeye tuna, swordfish, albacore and blue marlin (and other incidental catch species),
shark fin ratio, shark by-catch re-estimation, incidental catch rate and mortality rate by sighting of seabirds, sea
turtles and cetaceans. The research results were presented at the regular meeting and inter-sessional working
group meetings of the SCRS.
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