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 65% – Percentage of tuna caught globally each year by purse-seine vessels
- 1,843 – Estimated number of purse-seine vessels authorized to fish for tuna
- 686 – Number of purse-seine vessels that are “large scale” (335 m3fish hold volume or greater) and fishing for tropical tuna
BYCATCH
When fishing on free-swimming schools, purse-seine vessels have an average bycatch rate of less than 1%. When utilizing FADs, purse-seine vessels have bycatch rates from around 1% in the Eastern Pacific to nearly 9.5% in the Atlantic.
FUEL EFFICIENCY
According to an ISSF-commissioned study, purse seine vessels consume 368 liters of fuel in order to land one ton of tuna.