• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.196-204
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• 2005

The horizontal and vertical distribution of yellowfin tuna, Thunnus albacares (Bonnaterre) and bigeye tuna, Tunnus obesus (Lowe) in relation to oceanic conditions such as thermal structure produced during El Nino/La Nina episodes were analyzed on the basis of data sets for the catches and efforts from the Korean tuna longline fishery and for the oceanographic observations from the NOAA during 1982-2002 in the tropical Pacific. The high density of fishing ground appeared in the western Pacific ($5^{\circ}N-5^{\circ}S,\;160^{\circ}E-180^{\circ}W$) for yellowfin tuna and in the eastern Pacific ($5^{\circ}N-15^{\circ}S,\;130^{\circ}W-100^{\circ}W$) for bigeye tuna. yellowfin and bigeye tunas were mainly distributed at the 110-250 m layer and 245-312 m layer, respectively, in the western Pacific. However, in the eastern Pacific, they were mostly caught at the 116-161 m and 205-276 m layer for yellowfin tuna and bigeye tuna, respectively. It can be suggested that bigeye tuna be distributed in the deepest layer among tunas and show a vertical size stratification. It was observed that during the El Nino events the main fishing ground of yellowfin tuna shifted from the western Pacific toward the eastern Pacific. In the eastern Pacific which showed a higher density of bigeye tuna, the vulnerability of bigeye tuna caught by deep longline increased during the El Nino events due to deepening of thermocline layer and a more intensively distribution of the fish schools in the lower layer of thermocline during the El Nino events.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Fisheries and Ocean Technology
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• v.47 no.4
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• pp.390-402
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• 2011

A preliminary study on species composition of a Korean purse seine catch landed at cannery was conducted in April 2011. In the cannery, all tuna catch are sliding through a sorting grid panel that filters and drops fish in the buckets by size class (above 9kg, 3.4-9kg, 1.8-3.4kg, 1.4-1.8kg and below 1.4kg). In cannery processing, species sorting was made for skipjack tuna and yellowfin tuna only from catches greater than 3.4kg during filtering but not for bigeye tuna because of difficulties in species identification between bigeye tuna and yellowfin tuna under frozen state. As no species identification was carried out for catch groups less than 3.4kg in the cannery process, this study focused on sorting out skipjack tuna and yellowfin tuna from these groups and then identifying bigeye tuna from all size groups of yellowfin tuna. Using the mixture rate of species obtained from the samples taken, species composition of the landed catch was estimated. As results, cannery research showed 95% for skipjack tuna, 3% for yellowfin tuna and 2% for bigeye tuna in species composition, while vessel logbook data represented 96%, 3% and 1% for skipjack tuna, yellowfin tuna and bigeye tuna, respectively. The proportion of bigeye tuna identified in the cannery was slightly higher than shown in logbook data by 1%.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.86-94
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• 1989

Yellowfin and bigeye tunas have been targeting and the most important species for the Korean tuna longline fishery in the Indian Ocean. This study is aimed to analyse the fishing efficiency of the regular and the deep longlines and the vortical distribution of tunas, and the weight composition by fishing depth based on the data from Korean tuna longline fishery from 1973 to 1980 and from 1984 to 1986 in the Indian Ocean. It was found that the deep longline gear on bigeye tuna was significantly different from the regular longline gear on yellowfin tuna in the whole Indian Ocean. Yellowfin tuna and billfishes were chiefly distributed at the shallow layer and bigeye at the deep layer. The weight composition of yellowfin and bigeye tunas by depth showed that the deeper the depth, the larger the bigeye distributed.

• Environmental and Resource Economics Review
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.415-435
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• 2019

The purpose of this study is to analyze the returns to scale by estimating the bigeye tuna production function of Korean distant longline fisheries in WCFPC waters. In the analysis, number of crews, vessel tonnage, number of hooks, and bigeye tuna biomass are used as input variables and the catch amount of bigeye tuna is used as an output variable in the Cobb-Douglas production function. Prior to the function estimation, the biomass of bigeye tuna was estimated by the Bayesian state-space model. Results showed that the fixed effect model was selected based on the hausman test, and vessel tonnage, hooks, and biomass would have direct effects on the catch amount. In addition, it was shown that the bigeye tuna distant longline fisheries in WCFPC water would have increasing returns to scale.

• Korean Journal of Ichthyology
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.105-111
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• 2008

A pelagic tuna longline research cruise in the eastern and central Pacific Ocean from September to October of 2006 was conducted to compare catch rates with the use of different hook type and bait combinations. Traditional tuna hooks (J 4) and three circle hook types (C15, C16, C18), along with five bait types (chub mackerel (CM), jack mackerel (JM), milkfish (MF), sardine (SD), and squid (SQ)) and hook number as a proxy for hook depth were evaluated for their effect on bigeye tuna catch rates (fish per 1,000 hooks) using Generalized Linear Models (GLMs). Results from 28 sets indicated significant differences in bigeye catch rates between individual longline sets and hook number. The GLM explained 33% of the deviance in bigeye catch rates with these two factors. An alternative model formulation included bait type which had a small effect (explaining 2.7% of the deviance) on catch rates. Hook type had a negligible and non-significant effect in the GLMs. These results indicate that all of the hooks and baits tested are equally effective at catching bigeye tuna and that hook number (depth) was the paramount operational factor in explaining bigeye tuna catch rates.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Fisheries and Ocean Technology
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• v.47 no.4
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• pp.344-355
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• 2011

We conducted experiments to compare the catch rate of bigeye tuna and yellowfin tuna between circle hooks and straight shank hook in the Korean tuna longline fishery at the eastern and central Pacific Ocean from 2005 to 2007. We analyzed difference of fork length, survival and hooking location between a circle hook and a straight shank hook for both tunas, respectively. There was no difference in the mean fork length size of yellowfin tuna caught on the two type of hook but bigeye tuna was significant. In case of survival, there was no difference between two hook type, but the difference of hooking location was significant for both species. We also analyzed to find determinants of both tunas catch rate using generalized linear models (GLMs) which were used latitude, longitude, year, month, depth, hook type, bait type and so on as independent variables. Spatial factors, latitude and longitude, and temporal factors, year and month, affected catch rate of bigeye tuna and yellowfin tuna. And also, depth such as a marine environment factor was influenced on catch rate.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.30 no.5
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• pp.719-729
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• 1997

Stomach contents of bigeye tuna, Thunnus obesus, and yellowfin tuna, Thunnus albacares, caught by longlining in the western tropical Pacific were analyzed to examine their foods and to compare their feeding behavior. The food species of both bigeye and yellowfin tunas were primarily fishes, crustaceans, and cephalopods. A total of 15 fish, 6 crustacean, and 1 cephalopod species were identified from their stomach contents, of which lantern fish (Myctophum sp.) was the most important food for both tuna species. No significant differences in species composition of food items between bigeye and yellowfin tunas were observed, indicating that in the same habitat the tunas have a similar feeding behavior. However, while they showed a remarkable similarity in diet composition, significant quantitative differences on the basis of IRI values were observed in several diet species, such as Myctophidae, Alepisauridae, Oplophoridae, Gammaridae, and Onychoteuthidae.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Fisheries and Ocean Technology
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.225-231
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• 1991

In order to suggest the useful information on the fishing ground of the bigeye tuna Thunnus obesus(LOWE), a data base system was formed with catch data of the Korean tuna long liners during from 1975 to 1987 by using a set of 16 bits personal computer. This data base was constructed of the handling program and 4 types of data file processed from the monthly and yearly catch data of the whole tunas and the bigeye tuna. And when the system was started, the map of one among various Oceans such as the Pacific, the Atlantic and the Indian Ocean. is drawn on the monitor. And then the catch rates of the whole tunas or the catch ratios of bigeye tunas are indicated by the figured symbols and the colors on the sea divisions of 5$^{\circ}$ space of longitude and latitude respectively at the same time. Also this system has the preestimating program on the catch rates of the whole tunas and the bigeye tuna in the desired month and sea divisions. In the results than this data base system was handled and tested, very useful informations were obtained for the detection of tunas, especially bigeye tuna, and the preestimation was possible in a desired level.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Fisheries and Ocean Technology
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• v.50 no.4
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• pp.556-566
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• 2014

Korean distant water tuna longline fishery commenced in 1966 in the Atlantic Ocean. Since then, it has become one of the most important fisheries of Korea. By early of 1970s, total amount of tuna caught in the Atlantic Ocean was the highest among other Korean distant water tuna fisheries, but has become minor since 1990s. The annual catch of tuna and tuna-like species by Korean tuna longline fishery in the Atlantic Ocean was about 1,900 mt in 2013. Bigeye tuna was the predominant species in species composition followed by yellowfin tuna, Albacore tuna, Blue shark and Swordfish. Korean distant water tuna longline fishery have mainly operated in the tropical area of the Atlantic Ocean ($20^{\circ}N{\sim}20^{\circ}S$, $20^{\circ}E{\sim}60^{\circ}W$), fishing ground was almost similar as in the previous years. The length frequency of major species (Bigeye tuna, Yellowfin tuna, Albacore tuna, Blue shark and Swordfish) were estimated. As the result of length (size) frequency data on main species caught by lonline fishery in the Atlantic Ocean, main length intervals of bigeye tuna caught in 2011, 2012 and 2013 were 120~125 cm, 160~165 cm and 130~135 cm, respectively. For yellowfin tuna, those were 125~130 cm, 150~155 cm, 145~150 cm and for albacore, 109 cm, 102 cm, 109 cm and 106 cm respectively. For swordfish caught in 2011, 2012 and 2013, main length intervals were 130~135 cm, 125~135 cm and 125~130 cm, respectively, and for blue shark, 195~200 cm in 2011 and 185~190 cm in 2012, 2013.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Fisheries and Ocean Technology
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• v.51 no.3
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• pp.414-423
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• 2015

Fishing trend and characteristics of Korean tuna purse seine fishery in the Pacific Ocean were investigated using logbook data compiled from captain onboard and the statistical data from 1980 to 2013. The historical catch of this fishery had sharply increased since mid-1980s, and it has shown fluctuations with about 2-3 hundred thousands, whereas the catch per number of vessel has steadily increased with fluctuations since commencing this fishery. As for the proportion of catch by set type, unassociated type had increased from the mid-1980s to the end of 1990s, and then has decreased up to 2010s. Associated type had decreased continually to the end of 1990s, however, it started to increase since the beginning of 2000s. As for the catch proportion of set type by main species, those of skipjack tuna and bigeye tuna showed higher in the associated type, whereas that of yellowfin tuna has the highest proportion in the unassociated type. Fishing distribution of Korean tuna purse seine fishery was concentrated on the area of $5^{\circ}N{\sim}10^{\circ}S$ and $140^{\circ}E{\sim}180^{\circ}$ through the decades. The monthly catch distribution by longitudinal zone of Korean tuna purse seine fishery expanded the most further to the eastward in September to October.