Korean tuna purse seine fishery in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean (WCPO) began to operate in earnest in the early 1980s. Since then, the total catch has shown an increasing trend and the target species are skipjack tuna (Katsuwonus pelamis), yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacare) and bigeye tuna (Thunnus obesus). Based on the operational data of Korean tuna purse seine fishery from 2016 to 2020, the catch rates of target species (skipjack and yellowfin tunas) were analyzed by operation time for set types (free school and FAD sets). In the case of the free school sets, they were usually made from sunrise to sunset, and the catch rate was high before and after sunrise for skipjack tuna and before sunset for yellowfin tuna. On the other hand, for the FAD sets, more than 90% of them were made just before sunrise, and there were few operations during the daytime. The purpose of this study is to examine whether there are differences in the catch rate of skipjack and yellowfin tunas by operation time and by school type for Korean tuna purse seine fishery in the WCPO, which could be helpful in understanding its fishing characteristics and providing useful information for developing the stock indices of the target species.

• 하영신(국립수산과학원 원양자원과 연구원) | Young Shin HA (Researcher, Division of Distance Water Fisheries Resources Research, National Institute of Fisheries Science)
• 권유정(국립수산과학원 원양자원과 연구원) | Youjung KWON (Researcher, Division of Distance Water Fisheries Resources Research, National Institute of Fisheries Science)
• 이미경(국립수산과학원 원양자원과 연구원) | Mi Kyung LEE (Researcher, Division of Distance Water Fisheries Resources Research, National Institute of Fisheries Science)
• 이성일(부경대학교 해양생산시스템관리학부 교수) | Sung Il LEE (Professor, Division of Marine Production System Management, Pukyong National University) Corresponding Author