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I. DESCRIPTION OF THE FISHERY 



I. A. History of Fishery 



Albacore ( Thunnus alalunga ) is a single species found world-wide in 

 most temperate ocean areas. In the Pacific Ocean, north and south stocks, 

 separated near the equator, are thought to exist. 



The North Pacific stock is fished by three major fleets: the 

 Japanese surface fleet, the predominantly Japanese longline fleet, and the 

 North American surface fleet. The Japanese skipjack pole-and-1 ine fleet, 

 which has been operating during the spring months since the 1920's, began 

 expanding its operations offshore along the Kuroshio front in the early 

 1970's. As a result, it has substantially increased its catches, 

 particularly of two-and three-year-old albacore. The longline fishery, 

 comprised primarily of Japanese vessels with some from Taiwan and Korea, 

 has been operating in the mid-to western north Pacific during the winter 

 months since the early 1950's. The North American surface fleet consists 

 primarily of U.S. vessels with some Canadian vessels. This fleet, mostly 

 jigboats or trollers with some baitboats, has been fishing off the coast of 

 North America since about 1900. 



I.B. Trends in Catch and Effort 



Yearly catches, by country and gear type, are shown in Table 1 for 

 1940-1978. Data are missing for some countries prior to 1961, but the 

 remainder of the series is considered to be essentially complete. Catches 

 for the Japanese surface, Japanese longline, and North American surface 

 fleets, and the combined total catches, are shown in Figure 1 for 1961- 

 1978. During 1961-1974, the total catch increased, particularly in the 

 early 1970's, with a record catch of 114,858 mt in 1974. The catch 

 declined to 86,327 mt in 1975 but rose to a new record of almost 124,000 mt 

 in 1976. Total catches have decreased since 1976. The trends in the total 

 catch in the 1970's reflect changes in the Japanese surface fishery, which 

 became the major producer during this period. The Japanese longline 

 fishery catches decreased from 1967 through 1975, and have increased only 

 slightly since then. The North American fishery catches, characterized by 

 periodic increasing and decreasing trends, have been declining since 1972. 

 Preliminary data indicate a 1979 catch of 4,938 mt, one of the poorest 

 years on record. 



