(vasep.com.vn) According to the research results of Research Institute for Marine Fisheries (RIMF) (period of 2000-2009), stocks of skipjack tuna in Vietnam is estimated at about 800,000 MT, yellowfin tuna of 45,000 MT and bigeye tuna of 28,000 MT. Maximum sustainable yield (MSY) of oceanic tuna group in Vietnam is estimated at 17 thousand MT per year.
The whole country has over 20,000 gillnet vessels; nearly 5,000 purse seine vessels for pelagic fisheries including small tuna. Oceanic tuna fishing fleets are mainly located Binh Dinh province (150 vessels), Phu Yen (150 vessels), Khanh Hoa (200 ones).
Annual oceanic tuna catch at 3 these provinces is 10,000- 12,000 MT. However, the current bottlenecks of tuna fishery sector are lack of information on species and fishing grounds; small-scaled and backward fishing equipments and fishing methods; outdated and bad on-board storage and post harvest preservation. Therefore, many longline tuna fishing vessels gave up due to ineffective fishing.
Vietnam tuna fishery data collection project is planned to implement in 2012. The target of the project is orienting data and information collection about catching, landings, preserving and relevant activities with an aim to developing tuna fishery sector effectively and sustainably in compliance to international integration requirements of Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC).
The project is mastered by Fisheries Information Center (FICen) with the participation of relevant organizations such as Department of Capture Fisheries and Resource Protection (DECAFIREP), RIMF, Planning and Finance Department and WCPFC. WCPFC committed to assist Vietnam tuna sector the initial expense of US$12,000 for data collection, background information of the project.