Status of tuna fishery in Indian Ocean and Chinese development strategy

Based on the information from the Scientific Committee of Indian Ocean Tuna Commission(IOTC) and national fishery report of the main fishing countries,this article analyzed the situation of purse-seine fishery and longline fishery in Indian Ocean during 2003～2007.Total catch of the main tuna species(bigeye tuna,yellowfin tuna,albacore and skipjack) reached 913,900t in 2007.Tuna fisheries consist of purse-seine,longline,gillnet and bait boat.Except albacore stock in the southern Indian Ocean,which has a certain potential for exploitation,the other major tuna catch close to the maximum sustainable yield.Due to the fishing capacity limitation and fishing effort control for tropical tunas in the Indian Ocean,China tuna fishery should adopt the strategy of improving fishing efficiency of longline fishery,actively fulfill the international obligations of tuna conservation and management and moderately develop Mauritius-based small-scale albacore longline fisheries.