Statistics of the purse seine fishing fleet of France's overseas territories targeting tropical tunas in the Indian Ocean (1981-2012)

In 2012, the France’s Overseas Territories purse seine fishing fleet of the Indian Ocean was composed of 5 vessels of individual carrying capacity >800 t, which all represented a total carrying capacity of more than 5,200 t. The total cumulated nominal effort was about 1,350 and 1,100 fishing and searching days, respectively. The total number of fishing sets was about 1,300, with 48% of the sets realised on FAD-associated schools. In 2012, the total catch reached 30,000 t and was composed of 67%, 23%, and 8.5% of yellowfin, skipjack, and bigeye, respectively. Catches on free-swimming schools represented 54% of the total catch (i.e. 15,500 t) and were largely predominated by yellowfin. Catches on FAD-associated schools represented a total of 13,700 t and were characterized by a high proportion of yellowfin (45%). The catch of skipjack per positive set showed a strong decrease from more than 24 t in 2006 to less than 12 t in 2012. The catch of yellowfin per positive set increased in 2012 to 30 t set.