• Based on preliminary figures for Feb, the overall purse seine fishing effort slightly rose in Feb and fishing intensified (fishing days/calendar day) in HS and in EEZs but total catch declined as catch rates significantly reduced marking what appears an end to months of relatively high catches as effort continued to shift west associated with weakening El Nino conditions.
  • Total purse seine catches (EEZs+HS) declined 36% as catches in all EEZs and HS declined apart from those in FM and NR. FM accounted for most of the catch and combined with NR, PG and TV, catch concentration towards the west was at least 62% of total, up from 39% in Jan.
  • Effort increases during the month only showed for FM, NR, PG and PW. Effort spread across EEZs showed KI share of 27% as the highest but combined shares of FM, NR, PG and TV accounted for 59% of total, up from 41% in Jan.
  • Overall catch rate declined 39% to 29t/day as catch rates in all EEZs and HS declined significantly apart from the 5% increase in SB which also posted the highest catch rate.
  • Reported total transhipped volume dropped 31% to 60,800t with Majuro and PG ports accounting for 65% of total.
  • Bangkok SKJ prices in Feb as reported by Thai Union declined further to $1,300/mt from Jan. The Singapore MGO price edged down to an average $769/mt and the differential between the prices reduced further by 14%.
  • Weakening El Nino conditions is shown in the Dec-Feb SST index reducing to +1.8 degrees Celsius from +2.0 degrees Celsius. More recent four weeks data show a range of +1.0 degrees Celsius – +1.5 degrees Celsius SST index values across most of the Pacific and NOAA forecasts ENSO-neutral conditions by Apr-Jun period.
Past Monthly Reports