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Final <strong>Report</strong>
RoO Derogation under the PACP-IEPA
Figure 5.1 WCPO catch by gear in the WCP Convention Area, 1960-2010
Catch (mt)
2,800,000
2,400,000
2,000,000
1,600,000
1,200,000
800,000
400,000
0
PURSE SEINE
OTHER
POLE-AND-LINE
LONGLINE
1960
1962
1964
1966
1968
1970
1972
1974
1976
1978
1980
1982
1984
1986
1988
1990
1992
1994
1996
1998
2000
2002
2004
2006
2008
2010
Source: SPC database 2011
The majority of the WCPO catch continues to be taken by the purse seine fishery (75%, 1,818,255
mt), with the balance contributed by longline (10%, 248,589 mt), pole-and-line (7%, 171,597 mt) and
other fisheries (7%), most notably the small scale commercial/artisanal fisheries of Indonesia and
Philippines. Catches by gear types other than purse seine have generally been stable or decreasing in
recent years, although it is noted that there has been considerable transfer of longline effort to
more southern areas (e.g. Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, Cook Islands). From this point of the report
onwards, discussion will mostly focus on the purse seine fishery, which is the primary fishery of
concern for PNG’s canned tuna industry.
The species composition of the logsheet-reported purse seine catch was estimated as 81% skipjack,
16% yellowfin and 3% bigeye, consistent with previous years. However, the logsheet data are known
to under-report yellowfin and bigeye, and in future reports, species composition estimates will be
corrected, based on observer data spill samples. 129 The overall impact of this will be a reduced
skipjack percentage, possibly down to 67%, and slightly higher percentage estimates for yellowfin
(23%) and bigeye (5%), with albacore also 5%.
Skipjack and yellowfin are the target species for the purse seine fleet, with incidental catches of
bigeye. Associated purse seine sets (i.e. anchored FADs, drifting FADs, log sets) take higher
proportions of bigeye and larger amounts of juvenile tunas, especially yellowfin and bigeye, and
have thus been the focus of conservation and management measures aimed at reducing bigeye
catches overall, and juvenile catch of both species.
Both total purse seine catch and effort have not increased significantly since 2008, despite a higher
130
total catch (all gears) in 2009. However, the effort and catch for the four main purse seine fleets
combined (Korea, Taiwan, Japan, US) was the highest ever for 2010, and just over 50% of the total
WCPO purse seine catch.
129 P.Williams, SPC, pers.comm., September 2011.
130 Williams & Terawasi, 2011; Figure 5.
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