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I. DESCRIPTION OF THE FISHERY 

 I. A. History of the Fishery 



Albacore, Thunnus alalunga , is one of the most important species 

 taken in the South Pacific tuna longline fishery by vessels from Taiwan, 

 the Republic of Korea, and Japan. Small amounts of South Pacific albacore 

 are taken by surface troll ers of Chile and New Zealand. 



As part of the general eastward expansion of the Japanese longline 

 fishery after World War II, Japanese longliners began fishing in the 

 western South Pacific in 1952, principally for yellowfin tuna. In 1954, a 

 small fleet of Japanese longliners based at American Samoa began fishing 

 for tunas to supply an American tuna cannery in Pago Pago. The Japanese 

 also established a base in 1958 at Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides, and in 

 1963 at Fiji. A base for foreign longliners has also been established at 

 Tahiti. The geographical boundaries of the fishery in the South Pacific, 

 based on Japanese longline fishing operations from 1952 to 1976, extends 

 from the equator to approximately 45°S latitude between 135°E and 80°W 

 longitude (Figure 1) . 



I.B. Trends in Catch and Effort 



The estimated total annual catch of South Pacific albacore from 

 1952 to 1978 ranged between 210 and 49,275 mt (metric tons) (Table 1). The 

 catch rose rapidly from 210 mt in 1952 to 39,479 mt in 1962, and has since 

 fluctuated, reaching a low of 24,975 mt in 1963 and a high of 48,691 mt in 

 1973 (Figure 2). However, longline catch data are often available only in 

 number of fish caught, or may be incomplete in other ways; therefore, the 



and Taiwan is estimated (Wetherall 



total catch in weight for Japan, Korea, 

 et al.M. 



The total number of longliners based at Pago Pago increased from 

 18 in 1954 to 344 in 1973, with Korean and Taiwanese boats gradually 

 replacing Japanese vessels during this period (Table 2). Since 1973 the 

 total number of vessels has declined to the present level of about 200. 

 Total fishing days by Taiwanese vessels reached a peak of 22,028 in 1973, 

 but has declined to less than 10,000 in recent years (Table 3). Comparable 

 values for Korean longliners are 27,111 and 16,000 fishing days. 



^Wetherall, J. A., F. V. Riggs, and M. Y. Y. Yong. 1979. Assessment 

 of the South Pacific albacore stock. SWFC Admin. Rep. H-79-6, Natl. 

 Mar. Fish. Serv., NOAA, Honolulu, Hawaii, 41 p. Prepared for the Work- 

 shop on the Assessment of Selected Tunas and Bill fish Stocks in the 

 Indian and Pacific Oceans, Shimizu, Japan, 13-22 June 1979. 



