Fishery, biology and stock structure of skipjack tuna, Katsuwonus pelamis (Linnaeus, 1758) exploited from Indian waters

Abstract

Global catches of skipjack tuna have been steadily increasing since 1951, reaching a peak in 2009 at 25, 99,681 t (Fig.1). Most of the catches were reported from the fishing areas 71, 51, 61 and 34 (FA0, 2011). Globally skipjack tuna is caught at the surface, mostly with purse seines and pole and lines and to a small extent by gillnets, troll lines and longlines. Gears like purse-seine and very long gillnets enabled few nations to augment their production, whereas traditional pole and line nations suffered heavily.