The Description of Catch and Effort of the Taiwanese Albacore Longline Fishery in Atlantic Ocean

The spatial and temporal characteristics of Taiwanese longline fishery in the Atlantic Ocean was examined using the catch and effort data, aggregated by month, by 5×5 degree statistical block and by species from 1967 to 2002. Taiwanese longline fishery in the Atlantic Ocean is directed mainly at albacore. In the last decade (1993-2002) the albacore average catch of Taiwan's longline fleet accounted for more than 65% in South Atlantic Ocean and for 14% in North Atlantic Ocean for all flags. After late-1980s, the deep longline operation was introduced. Some longliners improved the freezing facilities and shifted the target from temperate albacore to the tropical bigeye tuna, yellowfin tuna and swordfish more or less. The fishing strategy of Taiwanese longline fishery has been transformed since then. Moreover, while the joining of the non-albacore directed effort, ft may result of the decreasing trends of albacore's catch rate in the both North and South Atlantic Oceans since late-1980s.