10 



COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW 



Vol. 28, No. 7 



Marquesas Islands. Presently, the vessels are fishing in an extensive area from the Equator 

 in the north to as far south as 30° S., and from about 17 5° E. longitude in the west to as far 

 east as longitude 120° W., or an area of about 8 million square miles. Vessels fish as far as 

 3,000 nautical miles from their base. 



Except for the first few years, when yellowfin tuna dominated the catch, albacore has 

 been the predominant species in the catch. Albacore tuna are being delivered to the canner- 

 ies in a ratio of about 4:1 by weight over yellowfin. Among the tunas, albacore usually com- 

 mands the highest price. In American Samoa, commercial fishermen have geared their ef- 

 fort towards catching that tuna species. Fishing grounds are selected where albacore are 



most plentiful and not necessarily where the 

 greatest aggregate total of tuna of all species 

 can be caught. 



g 60 



K 40 



s 





 35 



1 30 



o 25 



d 20 



S 



IS 15 



300 



W. 



I 



4 ^m 



1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 



Fig. 1 - Locations fished by vessels from American Samoa, 1954, 

 1958, and 1964 



Fig. 2 - Annual albacore landings, annual total number of fishing 

 trips, and average albacore catch per trip by vessels based in 

 American Samoa, 1954-64, 



The total annual landings of albacore tuna by vessels based in American Samoa, the to- 

 tal number of fishing trips made each year, and the average catch of albacore per fishing 

 trip are shown in figure 2. (Note: Albacore landings data are based on date of capture rather 

 than on date of delivery and may therefore disagree slightly with other published statistics.) 

 The annual catch of albacore increased steadily since the start of the fishery, from 744,500 

 pounds in 1954 to 30 million pounds in 1963. In 1964, the catch declined to 23 million pounds. 

 In general, the annual landings have tended to fluctuate according to fishing effort (number of 

 trips). Between 1958 and 1960, however, landings increased despite a decrease in fishing ef- 

 fort. The rise was due to an increase in the average catch per fishing trip (a more refined 

 measure of effort is not available prior to 1962). The rather sharp drop in landings in 1964 

 resulted from the combined effects of a decrease in average catch per fishing trip and a drop 

 in fishing effort. 



