Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia A PRELIMINARY ANALYSIS OF VMS DATA FROM THE EQUATORIAL PURSE-SEINE FLEET – THE POTENTIAL APPLICATION OF VMS DATA IN THE ANALYSIS OF PURSE-SEINE CATCH AND EFFORT DATA

Executive Summary The analysis of Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) data from the equatorial purse-seine fleet has the potential to increase the understanding of the operation of the fishery and lead to the quantification of the effective fishing effort expended by the fleet. In turn, this may enable the development of metrics that provide indicators of the performance of the fishery and, potentially, a method for monitoring the relative abundance of the principal target species (skipjack tuna) through the analysis of logsheet and other data. This paper presents a preliminary analysis of VMS data from fishing trips that primarily fished on unassociated tuna schools. The analysis applies a modelling approach developed for processing animal tracking data to characterise a range of vessel behaviours that are related to active searching and fishing. A number of recommendations are made to extend the study to a point where stronger conclusions can be made regarding the utility of the VMS data in stock monitoring and assessment.