Report of Japan's Scientific Observer Program for Tuna Longline Fishery in the Atlantic Ocean in the Fishing years of 2012 and 2013

Japan's scientific observer program for longline fishery in the Atlantic Ocean has been continuously carried out in 2013 fishing years (FY). This document mainly provides the summary of collected data by observers in 2013 FY, and the summary in 2012 FY were also updated. In 2013 FY, 14 observer trips were conducted on Japanese tuna longline vessels in the entire Atlantic Ocean, while observers had 22 trips in 2012 FY. Total number of fishing operations with observers was 555 (1,636,879 hooks) in 2013 FY, while 1010 (3,129,490 hooks) were monitored in 2012 FY. In each FY, more than 23,000 individuals were recorded by scientific observers. Details of trips and catch records were shown, and the coverage level based on the number of operating days was provided. Japan's observer programs covered 7.2% fishing activities in the entire Atlantic Ocean in 2013 calendar year, and also monitored 36.8% of the operations by Japanese longline vessels targeting Atlantic bluefin tuna in 2013 FY. The nominal CPUE (number of fish caught per 1000 hooks) by fishing area for major species were also calculated.