Oceanic Characteristics of Fishing Ground for Yellowfin and Bigeye Tunas Caught by Korean Tuna Longline Fishery in the Tropical Pacific

摘要

The horizontal and vertical distribution of yellowfin tuna, Thunnus albacares (Bonnaterre) and bigeye tuna, Thunnus obesus (Lowe) in relation to oceanic conditions such as thermal structure produced during El Nino / La Nina episodes were analyzed on the basis of data sets for the catches and efforts from the Korean tuna longline fishery and for the oceanographic observations from the NOAA during 1982-2002 in the tropical Pacific, The high density of fishing ground appeared in the western Pacific (5°N-5°S, 160°E-180°W) for yellowfin tuna and in the eastern Pacific (5°N-15°S, 130°W-100°W) for bigeye tuna, yellowfin and bigeye tunas were mainly distributed at the 110-250 m layer and 245-312 m layer, respectively, in the western Pacific, However, in the eastern Pacific, they were mostly caught at the 116-161 m and 205-276 m layer for yellowfin tuna and bigeye tuna, respectively. It can be suggested that bigeye tuna be distributed in the deepest layer among tunas and show a vertical size stratification, It was observed that during the El Nino events the main fishing ground of yellowfin tuna shifted from the western Pacific toward the eastern Pacific. In the eastern Pacific which showed a higher density of bigeye tuna, the vulnerability of bigeye tuna caught by deep longline increased during the El Nino events due to deepening of thermocline layer and a more intensively distribution of the fish schools in the lower layer of thermocline during the El Nino events.