Spatio-temporal patterns of juveniles in EU purse seine fleet catches targeting tropical tunas over the period 1990-2019

The knowledge of the juvenile distribution in fisheries is essential to better manage the fishing effort on a stock. The exploration of a large dataset which covers 30 years of the purse seine fishery sampling enabled to study the spatio-temporal dynamic of the juvenile catches of the yellowfin and...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: Duparc, Antoine, Pascual-Alayón, Pedro José, Abascal, Francisco Javier, Floch, L.
Format: article
Publication Date:2023
Country:España
Institution:Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
Repository:DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
OAI Identifier:oai:digital.csic.es:10261/326122
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/10261/326122
Access Level:Open access
Keyword:Size distribution
Pesquerías
Sede Central IEO
Atlantic Ocean
major tunas
yellowfin
bigeye
Thunnus albacares
Thunnus obesus
Description
Summary:The knowledge of the juvenile distribution in fisheries is essential to better manage the fishing effort on a stock. The exploration of a large dataset which covers 30 years of the purse seine fishery sampling enabled to study the spatio-temporal dynamic of the juvenile catches of the yellowfin and bigeye tunas. Results showed the existence of several areas of prime importance in terms of catch and concentration in juveniles with seasonal variations. Thus, the south of the fishing ground (Cape Lopez) was fished during winter month and the north during summer months (Cape Verde, Senegal y Mauritania). Offshore coastal zone and Gulf of Guinea were fished almost all along the year. This seasonal pattern is quite stable since the 90s but the proportion of juveniles in schools associated with floating objects tended to increase in both species. This preliminary study opened the way for further research on this important component of the fish stocks.