Neritic tuna fishery in Sri Lankan waters: An update - - Abstract

The relative contribution of the neritic tuna catch in the total production of tuna and tuna like species was markedly reduced from about 20% in 1997 to 4% in 2017. [...] The percentage representation of the Frigate tuna catch in neritic tuna production showed a considerable decline from 42% in 1997 to 28% in 2017while showing a remarkable declining not only the frigate tuna annual catch but also total neritic tuna annual catch in Sri Lanka. [...] The percentage of the immature fish in the frigate tuna catch also exhibits an increment form about 5.8% in 1997 to 18.4% in 2017. [...] A marked alteration in the percentage contribution of the neritic tuna species in the neritic tuna production could be identified (Figure 1). [...] According to the results of the length frequency analysis for bullet tuna in the Sri Lankan waters, the dominant length class in the catch was 25 – 29 cm (FL) in 1997, 2007 and 2017 (Figure 3).