. . . Pacific Highly Migratory Pelagic Fisheries 



80 



Figure 18-2.— U.S. yellowfin tuna 

 landings from the Pacific Ocean, 

 the eastern tropical Pacific (ETP), 

 and the central-western Pacific 

 (CWP), 1970-90. 



Albacore 



North Pacific albacore is fished from the 

 northern limits of the Subtropical Conver- 

 gence Zone (STCZ) to about lat. 15°N, and 

 from Japan to North America. In the South 

 Pacific, it is fished from about lat. 15°S to 

 the southern limits of the STCZ and from 

 South America to Australia. 



In the North Pacific, albacore are fished 

 primarily by longline, pole-and-line, drift gill 

 net, and trolling. Longline gear is used in 

 the lower latitudes, and this gear accounts 

 for about 20-25% of the current catches. 

 The surface fisheries (pole-and-line, drift 

 gill net, troll) operate in the more temper- 

 ate regions and account for 75-80% of the 

 catches. The U.S. fishery in the North Pa- 

 cific extends from the middle of the North 

 Pacific to North America and uses between 

 500 and 2,000 vessels. Based on a dock- 

 side value of $2,200/t, the annual value of 

 the Pacific albacore catch is about $195 

 million. 



South Pacific albacore are fished primar- 

 ily by longline, drift gill net, and trolling. As 

 in the north, longliners operate nearer the 

 equator. Surface gear is set in the Tasman 

 Sea and in the STCZ at about long. 160°W. 

 In 1990, about 60 U.S. trollers Fished the 

 South Pacific. 



Presently, there are no management re- 



gimes for the North or South Pacific alba- 

 core fisheries. In the South Pacific, multina- 

 tional discussions between Pacific island 

 nations and distant-water fishing nations, 

 including the United States, are being held 

 to explore various management schemes. 



The Pacific albacore (both the north and 

 south stocks) has a long history of exploi- 

 tation (Fig. 18-3). Recent development of 

 a large surface fishery in the South Pacific, 

 in addition to the longline fishery, has 

 changed the previous stock assessments 

 from "fully exploited," under a longline 

 only fishery, to "unknown." No LTPY has 

 yet been estimated, but a comprehensive 

 assessment is needed owing to the rapid 

 expansion of the surface drift net and troll 

 fisheries. 



In the North Pacific, the total catch, catch 

 rates, and fishing effort in the U.S. troll 

 fishery and the Japanese pole-and-line fish- 

 ery have all been declining (Fig. 18-3). 

 Previous assessments estimated LTPY 

 near 1 20,000 t and stock production at or 

 above LTPY in the 1970's. This high pro- 

 duction, coupled with the recent addition 

 of a drift gillnet fishery (for which statistics 

 are incomplete), is probably overutilizing 

 the stock. 



