Eastern Tuna and Billfish Fishery

Annual Status Report 2005-2008

5. Catch data

1. Total catch of target, byproduct and bycatch species (including retained and discarded catch)
2. Total catch of target species taken in other fisheries
3. Observer data
4. Spatial issues/trends
5. Effort data

5.1. Total catch of target, byproduct and bycatch species (including retained and discarded catch)

Table 2: Longline retained and non-retained catch by species in the logbooks for 2006/07

¹ Fish are not kept for a number of reasons including, management (no-take species), undersized fish (market requirements), shark damage, or simply no market.
* Chondrichthyans are subject to a 20 carcass per trip limit
** Managed under the Southern Bluefin Tuna Management Plan 1995 and is subject to quota
# Subject to trip limits under OCS agreements
$ No take species

See also:
For more information on catches see ETBF 2005-06 Data Summary (PDF, 1.3mb)
For more information on broadbill swordfish see AFMA’s monthly catch reports
For more information on interactions with protected species see Section: 7.1 Frequency and nature of interactions

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5.2. Total catch of target species taken in other fisheries

Commonwealth fisheries that operate in the same region as the ETBF include the SBT fishery, Small Pelagics Fishery (SPF), South East Non-Trawl Fishery, South East Trawl (SET) Fishery, Southern Shark Fishery and the Coral Sea Fishery (See Table 3 for catches). The WTBF operates in waters adjacent to the ETBF but genetic studies have found differences between target species stocks in the Pacific compared to the Indian, although current level of knowledge still remains unclear. Due to the small number of operators (less than five) in the WTBF, privacy laws restrict the publishing of any catches. Many state finfish fisheries operate adjacent to the waters of the ETBF such as the NSW Ocean Trap and Line Fishery (OTLF), however direct interactions are limited given that most pelagic species caught in the ETBF do not venture into near shore waters and only a few species of inshore fish are susceptible to capture on pelagic longlines. There are many other fisheries that overlap with the operational area of the ETBF, however those mentioned are principally related to the fishery because species caught are common or species targeted in one fishery are caught for bait in another.

More information on the management of state fisheries can be found at the individual states websites:

Queensland - www.dpi.qld.gov.au
NSW - www.fisheries.nsw.gov.au
Victoria - www.nre.vic.gov.au/fishing
Tasmania - www.dpiw.tas.gov.au

For information on overlapping recreational catch and effort from the 2001 National Recreational Fishing Survey see the DAFF website.

Table 3: Catch of ETBF target species in other Commonwealth fisheries 1 January 2006- 1 April 2008

Internationally, the WCPFC monitors catches in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean (WCPO). The provisional tuna catch for 2006 was estimated at 2,189,985 t, the second highest annual catch recorded and only slightly less than the record in 2005 (2,204,335 t). The catch for 2006 represented 78% of the total Pacific Ocean catch of 2,800,740 t and 51% of the global tuna catch (the provisional estimate for 2006 is just over 4.3 million t). The 2006, WCPO yellowfin catch for 2006 (426,726 t – 19%) was about 5% lower than in 2005, but still around the average catch level for the period since 2000 (Figure 3). The WCPO bigeye catch for 2006 (125,874 t – 6%) was also lower than in 2005, but slightly higher than the average catch level for the period since 2000. Recent WCPO albacore catches (98,626 t [4%] in 2005 and 99,861 t in 2006 [5%]) have been the lowest for nearly 10 years, mainly due to low catches in the North Pacific.

Figure 3: Catch (t) of albacore, bigeye, skipjack and yellowfin tuna in the WCPO in 2006 (Source: WCPFC, 2006[4])

(4) WCPFC (2006) Commission for the Conservation and Management of Highly Migratory Fish Stocks in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean. Scientific Committee, Third Regular Session Honolulu, HI, USA 13–24 August 2007 Summary Report, 267pp.

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5.3. Observer data

Observer data for 2006-07 is not yet available. See the ETBF 2005-06 Data Summary (PDF, 1.3mb) pages 30-33.

For information on the observer program and collection of data refer to Section 4.3: Observer program.

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5.4. Spatial issues/trends

Since the beginning of the Commonwealth fisheries buyback of fishing licenses, effort and number of active vessels in the ETBF has steadily decreased (see Section 5.5: Effort data). Spatial effort in the ETBF during 2006 saw a noticeable reduction in dedicated targeting of broadbill swordfish along offshore seamounts due to the introduction of a competitive TAC of 1,400 tonnes (see Section 1.2: Management arrangements). Conversely there was a considerable expansion of fishing effort to offshore waters off the mid Queensland coast (Figure 4), which reflected the fact that many fishers switched from swordfish to albacore. In 2007 with the introduction of management arrangements to reduce the impact on albacore north of 25 degrees latitude, a reduction in effort can be noticeably observed post March 2007 (Figure 4).

Figure 4: Number of hooks set in the longline sector of the ETBF in 2006-07 by area.

See also:
For more spatial data detail see the ETBF 2005-06 Data Summary (PDF, 1.3mb)

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5.5. Effort data

Table 4: Total longline hooks and shots deployed by year for all ETBF vessels.

See also:
For more catch and effort detail see the ETBF 2005-06 Data Summary (PDF, 1.3mb)

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Page last updated 4 May, 2010