The Numbers! If These Interest Those Wanting Truth Not Opinion

[scotishfisherman]

2 More Reports- The U.S. pelagic longline fleet accounts for five to
eight percent of the total number of pelagic longline hooks fished in the Atlantic.

[livetofishnj]

These are interesting and while some of the info is surely flawed, they are definitely useful for looking at trends.

One big one with the bluefin numbers is the decline in purse seine fish and increase in the handline category. Anyone know what the category is made up of for gear types? I don't get how any handline fishing could be the top producer of US bluefin, and since there is a trolled line category it doesn't seem like it includes the rod and reel commercial fishery. What's the story there? Is there a handline fishery for bluefin that I've just never been exposed to or is it a conglomeration of several gear types?

As for reporting, for sure the rec sector is tough to quantify and that leaves a huge hole in the data but I've done reporting on a daily basis when I was working charters with an HMS permit. I had to note when we fished or didn't how many anglers, gear type, catches, releases, even "junk" fish. Even the location was required, so the data exists, whether or not it is ever used is a different story...lol

[scotishfisherman]

Thanks for your insight and constructive observations. The NMFS has tons of interesting information most of which show the massive impact of the foriegn fleets on fish stocks. The other alarming observation I've made is the rapidly decreasing number of boats engaged in commercial fishing of all types. I'd be more than happy to prepare post for a forum as the number of views shows quite a bit of interest.

[livetofishnj]

There's a lot of interest in this stuff, and if you can take the time to look at it critically you can see the different trends in the fisheries.

Does anybody know what the handline category for tuna consists of in layman's terms? It's the highest landing category for bluefin tuna and I just don't understand what gear that really means.