Purse seine fishing is a consistent and efficient method, enabling fishers to catch and freeze large quantities of tuna.
Purse seine vessels fish either by spotting free-swimming schools of tuna or by utilizing floating objects that attract fish, either with natural or manmade objects such as fish aggregating devices (FADs).
KEY STATISTICS
- About 63% — Percentage of tuna caught globally each year by purse seine vessels
- 1,101 – Estimated number of purse seine vessels authorized to fish for tuna
- 693 – Number of large-scale tropical tuna purse seine vessels
BYCATCH
When fishing on free-swimming schools, purse seine fishing has an average bycatch rate of less than 1 percent. When utilizing FADs, bycatch rates vary from around 1.75 percent in the western and central Pacific to nearly 8.9 percent, depending on the ocean region.
FUEL EFFICIENCY
According to an ISSF-commissioned study, purse seine vessels consume 368 liters of fuel in order to land one ton of tuna.