Skipjack prices at the Bangkok tuna auction hit a record level of $2400 per ton last month, although they have retreated slightly since then.
The cutbacks in fishing, including reduction in the use of FADs, and an upcoming closed season on FAD fishing, is contributing to lower catches of skipjack, while strong demand for canned fish is leading buyers to continue to bid up the price.
Most observers expect skipjack prices to go higher over the summer, when the FAD exclusion is in place.
Sets on free school tuna are about 30% to 40% less effective than sets on FAD tuna.
Meanwhile, increased catches of albacore in the Indian and Atlantic ocean is driving down the price of albacore, so that for the first time in nearly twenty years, the prices of lower quality albacore and skipjack are close to each other.
There is some speculation that in those countries without strict label requirements, there may be efforts by canners to substitute albacore for skipjack.
The price increases in skipjack, which is not overfished, are a sign that the conservation measures championed by ISSF and put in place to ban FAD fishing seasonally are having a real effect.