TABLE OF CONTENTS 



Page 



Acknowledgements 3 



Description of gear and operational methods 3 



Distribution and abundance of tunas 4 



Yellowfin tuna 5 



Other tunas 9 



Relation of catches to environment 9 



Insular catches 12 



Vertical distribution of tunas 12 



Size composition of the catches of tuna 14 



Yellowfin 14 



Other tunas 19 



Sex composition of the tuna catches 20 



Changes in longline gear 20 



Improvements in construction 21 



Changes in hook spacing 22 



Shark damage to tuna catches 25 



Summary 27 



Literature cited 28 



Appendix 30 



