-104- 



Bigeye tuna - The estimated annual catch increased steadily from 

 1,500 mt in 1952 to 38,700 mt in 1968, then declined temporarily to 16,000 

 mt in 1973. Annual catch estimates after 1973 rose sharply to the 1978 

 high of 48,600 mt (Table 1 and Figure 3). 



Yellowfin tuna - The estimated annual catch fluctuated widely from 

 1952 to 1978 but suggests a general downward trend. Years with relatively 

 high catches include 1956 (65,500 mt) , 1968 (88,100 mt) , and 1977 (70,500 

 mt) (Table 1 and Figure 4). 



Skipjack tuna - The catch fluctuated with a generally rising trend 

 from 13,200 mt in 1965 to a peak of 41,300 mt in 1974; it then declined to 

 32,600 mt in 1978 (Table 1 and Figure 5). 



Reliable statistics of nominal effort are available only for 

 Japanese and Taiwanese longline vessels (Figure 6). Japanese effort rose 

 to a high of 126 million hooks in 1967, followed by a general decline to 67 

 million hooks in 1978. The effort by Taiwan, beginning in 1967, rose 

 rapidly to 53 million hooks within the first 3 years, then experienced a 

 gradual decline to 34 million hooks in 1973. Taiwanese effort then rose 

 again sharply, reaching its highest value of 57 million hooks in 1974; it 

 then declined to 26 million hooks in 1977. 



Although not included in Figure 6, an increasing proportion of the 

 total longline effort in recent years may be attributed to Korean vessels. 

 Japanese longline effort shifted away from yellowfin tuna in earlier years 

 to albacore, then bigeye tuna, and is currently targeted on southern 

 bluefin tuna, T. thynnus. 



I.e. Value of Catch 



No information on the value of catch is available. Presumably most 

 of the tunas caught in the longline fishery are landed in Japanese, Korean, 

 and Taiwan ports. 



I.D. Current Management of the Fishery 



None of the tunas in the Indian Ocean is under management. 



II. NATURE AND SIGNFICANCE OF U.S. AND FOREIGN 

 PARTICIPATION IN THE FISHERY 



There is no known current U.S. participation or direct investment in 

 the Indian Ocean tuna fisheries. A quantity of tuna landed by foreign 



