The number of purse seine vessels has decreased slightly, according to the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF).
The 3% decrease from 1,855 in 2021 to 1,808 in the latest Large-Scale Tuna Purse Seine Fishing Fleets report is thought to be mainly a result of the delisting of several vessels from RFMO authorised vessel records, as well as changes in the fleets of medium-sized vessels that are no longer on the active list of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas.
Other reasons might be pertinent such as updates to vessel type as reported to RFMOs or vessels that have sunk or been scrapped.
The report also shows that approximately 642 vessels defined as large-scale purse seine vessels are targeting tropical tuna species, down 5.3% from last year, with a combined fishing capacity of over 834,000m³.
This capacity was larger in 2021, at around 865,000m³ with the reduction explained for the most part by the number of vessels that are no longer found in RFMO authorised vessels records. A low number of new vessel constructions or new RFMO listings compared to previous years also contributed to the decrease.
ISSF analyses and aggregates information from the five tuna RFMOs and other sources to produce its annual report. The report also covers purse-seine vessel construction, distribution and fish hold volume by national flag.
