Small-scale Tunisian fishery for dolphinfish

Abstract

In this note we describe the dolphinfish (Coryphaena hippurus) fishery off Tunisian waters (central Mediterranean). Dolphinfish is fished from late August to early December, with the main catches in September-October, using fish aggregation devices and surrounding nets. A total of 260 boats are devoted to this fishery along the whole Tunisian coast, with an average annual catch of around 300 metric tonnes. The main fishing areas and ports are located on the central-eastern coast, which concentrates around 70-75% of fishing effort and landings. Both the sesonality of the fishery and the length composition of the catches, with a clear increase in mean size during the fishing period (from 26.0 cm fork length in August to 44 cm fork length in December), are similar to those reported in other Mediterranean areas.