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These 24-hour fleets utilise the Spanish longline method. They lay
fishing line up to 100 kilometres long with each line carrying up to
3000 baited hooks.
The hooks hang and float at the appropriate depths for catching threatened Patagonian toothfish: between 800 and 2500 metres below the surface.
Sharks and other fish species accidentally hooked (bycatch) – are thrown back into the sea, dead or dying. Meanwhile, white chinned petrels and albatrosses (some species critically endangered) are attracted to the bait on the longlines. They are pulled under water by the hooks and drowned.
Longliners also operate in the Pacific Ocean. A typical longline carries over 2000 baited hooks.
The main tuna species caught are yellowfin, bigeye and albacore with smaller amounts of skipjack. Longline fleets also catch many billfish species like marlin, wahoo, mahi mahi and swordfish, and other species like sharks.
Large scale longliners with ultralow temperature freezer capacity can stay at sea for months at a time. Small scale longliners fish on average for two weeks at a time and return to port.
The hooks hang and float at the appropriate depths for catching threatened Patagonian toothfish: between 800 and 2500 metres below the surface.
Sharks and other fish species accidentally hooked (bycatch) – are thrown back into the sea, dead or dying. Meanwhile, white chinned petrels and albatrosses (some species critically endangered) are attracted to the bait on the longlines. They are pulled under water by the hooks and drowned.
Longliners also operate in the Pacific Ocean. A typical longline carries over 2000 baited hooks.
The main tuna species caught are yellowfin, bigeye and albacore with smaller amounts of skipjack. Longline fleets also catch many billfish species like marlin, wahoo, mahi mahi and swordfish, and other species like sharks.
Large scale longliners with ultralow temperature freezer capacity can stay at sea for months at a time. Small scale longliners fish on average for two weeks at a time and return to port.
