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Albacore - The workshop recommended that an effort should be made 

 to determine precisely which data are missing and needed for minimally 

 sophisticated stock assessments such as production models and cohort 

 analyses. 



Skipjack tuna - Aside from localized studies, research on this 

 species has been almost nil. 



IV. B. Current Research Efforts 



There are currently no research efforts by the SWFC on Indian Ocean 

 tunas. Details of research being done by other agencies are not available 

 for this resport. 



IV. C. Future Research Needs 



There is an overall need to enhance and strengthen the Pacific and 

 Indian Ocean tuna data base and to monitor fishing activities and 

 developments in these areas more closely. 



The Shimizu Workshop (FAO, in press) pinpointed the following data 

 needs: 



1) More accurate estimates of yellowfin tuna catch, particularly for 

 the surface fisheries. 



2) Yellowfin catch, effort, and size- frequency data by temporal- 

 spatial strata for yield-per-recruit and stock structure studies. 



3) Improved data from that segment of the longline fishery which 

 targets on yellowfin, albacore, and bigeye tuna: the available analyses, 

 based on data from the Japanese longline fishery, are now inadequate 

 because Japanese longliners now target on southern bluefin tuna. 



4) Fishing effort and other biological data for the yellowfin and 

 bigeye tuna surface fisheries. 



5) Unpublished albacore catch and effort data thought to exist in 

 government and industry files. 



6) Improved catch and effort data for skipjack tuna in the various 

 localized surface industries. 



