Statistics of the French purse fishing fleet targeting tropical tunas in the Atlantic ocean (1991-2017)

In 2017, a total of 12 French vessels operated in the eastern Atlantic Ocean with 1 Bait Boat, 10 Purse Seiner and 1 supply vessel deploying FAD and managing a part of the FAD stock in the water. The total capacity weighted by the months of activity for each vessel is 9 907 t. The total nominal effort in 2017 was of 2794 fishing days and 2335 sets. The total catch of the French component of the EU purse seine fleet of the Atlantic Ocean was 45,730 t, being composed of 56%, 33%, and 8% of yellowfin tuna, skipjack tuna, and bigeye tuna respectively and with 2% of other species.