Abstract
This document presents an up-to-date summary of the French purse seine fleet targeting tropical tunas in the Indian Ocean. The statistics cover the period 1981-2021 and focus on the fishing activities of 2021. In 2021, a total of 13 French vessels operated in the western Indian Ocean including 11 purse seiners and 2 support vessels. The total capacity weighted by the months of activity for each vessel was 10,874 t. The total nominal effort in 2021 was of 1835 fishing days and 2561 sets with 2012 sets on floating objects and 549 on free-swimming tuna schools. In 2021, the total catch of major tunas in the Indian Ocean represented 78,307 t which is in the range of the five last years after a notable decrease in 2020 (58,149 t) due to Covid19 pandemic. The catch was composed of 36.5% of yellowfin (Thunnus albacares, YFT), 56.8% skipjack (Katsuwonus pelamis, SKJ), 6.5% bigeye tuna (Thunnus obesus, BET), 0.1% albacore (Thunnus alalunga, ALB) and 0.2% of other small tuna species. It is notable that the proportion of SKJ was especially high (compared to YFT) and was mainly the consequence of a high fishing effort under FOB (79% of the sets). In 2021, observer programs covered 20% of the total fishing effort. Discards of tunas estimated by observers and raised to the total production represent 1,590 t, i.e., 2% of the total catch in 2021. Bycatch, also monitored by observers and raised, were composed of billfishes, various bony fishes, sharks, rays, turtles, and cetaceans. Billfishes, other bony fishes, and sharks represent 789 t in 2021 of which 79% (622 t) was discarded at sea. All sharks, rays, turtles, and cetaceans were released at sea in 2021.