August 1966 



COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW 



53 



Argentina (Contd.): 



lantic. During the 5 years under considera- 

 tion, the highest catch per trip (198.8 metric 

 tons) was obtained off Brazil between lati- 

 tudes 15° and 20°, and longitudes 20° and 25°. 



Most of the 1966 Australia catch was canned 

 for local consumption; 5 shipments totaling 

 2,400 tons were exported, mostly to the U- 

 nited States where tuna prices were at a rec- 

 ord level. 



Table 3 - Argentina Catchl/ of Ttjna and Related Species, By Month, 1964, and Vessel and Gear Efficiency 



Month 



Trips 



Number of Hours 



For Trips y Fishing Time Only 



(Number) 



Long -Line 

 Sets 



Total 

 Catch 



Average Catch 

 Per Trip 



(Metric Tons) 

 150.S 

 105.6 

 106.1 

 59.7 

 121.1 

 125.1 

 135.4 

 138.1 

 101.7 

 105.8 



139.9 



Average Catch 

 Per Long »Line Set 



January. . , 



February • < 

 March . . 



April . . . , 



May • , . , 



)une . . . . 



July ... , 



August • • , 



September , 



October • . 



November . 



December , 



3,248 

 1,024 

 1,091 

 2,866 

 2,535 

 915 

 2,224 

 3,363 

 1,045 

 2,385 



2,297 



2,364 



810 



850 



1,190 



1,130 



570 



1,325 



1,350 



600 



1,458 



890 



115 

 43 

 45 

 65 

 93 

 30 

 96 

 93 

 35 

 81 



59 



451.6 

 105.6 

 106.1 

 119.5 

 242.3 

 125.1 

 270.8 

 414.5 

 101.7 

 317.4 



279.9 



3.9 

 2.4 

 2.3 

 1.8 

 2.6 

 4.1 

 2.8 

 4.4 

 2.9 

 3.9 



4.7 



Totals. 



21 



22.993 



13.037 



755 



2_,S34.5 



120.6 



3.3 



lyincludes albacore, yellowfin, bluefin, and big-eyed tuna; swordfish; and snake mackerel. 



The fleet consisted of three vessels in 

 1964, the Centauro . Eikyo Maru , and Foca II. 

 Those 3 vessels were each about the same 

 length (118 feet) and size (275 gross tons), 

 and possessed about the same hold capacity 

 (230 cubic meters). Each vessel oper- 

 ated with a crew of about 27 members. The 

 catch during 1964, by month, for those ves- 

 sels, including data on vessel and gear effi- 

 ciency, are given in table 3. January, June, 

 August, October, and December were the best 

 fishing months in 1964. 



Australia 



TUNA CATCH, 1965/66 SEASON: 



South Australia's 1966 tuna catch was a 

 record 6,482 short tons on April 24, when the 

 season was drawing to a close. This was 419 

 tons more than the previous highest total of 

 6,063 tons in 1964, and 1,263 tons more than 

 in 1965. The season's recordcatch was made 

 by a larger fleet--31 vessels at the peak, 10 

 more than in 1965. 



The 1965/66 New South Wales season was 

 disappointing; the catch was 2,476 tons as 

 compared with 2,600 tons the previous sea- 

 son, but the overall Australian total by April 

 24 was 8,954 tons, only 20 tons short of the 

 1963/64 record. Twenty-three vessels were 

 still fishing at that date, and the season ap- 

 peared likely to continue for another 3 weeks. 



The Espirito Santo , which acted as a moth- 

 ership for tuna vessels during the New South 

 Wales and South Australian seasons, sailed 

 late in April 1966 from Melbourne to purse 

 seine for tuna in eastern Bass Strait. The 

 former United States clipper planned to work 

 in close cooperation with a spotting aircraft 

 used in the Tasmanian and Victorian tuna sur- 

 vey. ( Australian Fisheries Newsletter , May 

 1966.) 



Brazil 



NEW OCEANOGRAPmC VESSEL 

 TO BE LAUNCHED IN 1967: 



Dr. Martha Vannuzzi, Director of the Ocean- 

 ographic Institute of the University of Sao 

 Paulo, reports that the Institute's new ocean- 

 ographic research vessel will be ready for 

 delivery at Bergen, Norway, in April 1967. 

 The vessel will be boarded at that time by a 

 crew composed half of Norwegians and half 

 of Brazilian scientists. On departure it will 

 start a 4 -months cruise for shakedown and 

 delivery to the Port of Santos in Brazil. The 

 cruise will take it along the African and Bra- 

 zilian coasts and willprovidean opportuntiyfor 

 comparative study of the Brazilian Current. 



A name has not yet been chosen for the 

 craft, but it will probably be called N. OC. W. 

 Besnard. Dr. Besnard, a Norwegian s cien- 

 tist, was the founder of theT5ceariographic In- 

 stitute in Sao Paulo. 



