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.
Highlights
The dolphinfish (Coryphaena hippurus) fishery in Tunisia (Central Mediterranean) is poorly documented
The main fishing areas are concentrated around Cape
The purpose of this article is to provide new data on this relevant resource, and to give an overview of the fishery based on the main results of the above mentioned paper
Summary
The dolphinfish (Coryphaena hippurus) fishery in Tunisia (Central Mediterranean) is poorly documented. It may have been introduced more recently on the northern coast and moved to the southern coast, where this fishery was not important until the 1980s. This fishery is currently carried out along the whole Tunisian coast (Fig. 1), and constitutes an important resource for the small-scale fleet. As in other areas of the Mediterranean (Galea, 1961; Massutí and MoralesNin, 1995), this fishery is seasonal, extending from the second fortnight of August to early December
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