CATCH ESTIMATIONS OF BYCATCH SPECIES LANDED BY THE SPANISH SURFACE LONGLINE FLEET TARGETING SWORDFISH ( Xiphias gladius ) IN THE INDIAN OCEAN WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO THE YEARS 2007 AND 2008

This document provides an overview of the bycatch levels by species landed by the Spanish surface longline fleet targeting swordfish (Xiphias gladius) in the Indian Ocean during the years 2007 and 2008. The three most prevalent species in the catch, swordfish, blue shark (Prionace glaucaU)U and shortfin mako (Isurus oxyrinchus U)U represented 84.3% and 88.5% of the total Indian Ocean landings in weight during the last two years, respectively. During the years 2007-2008 the bycatch species accounted for 56.0% of the total landings in weight from the Indian Ocean –large pelagic sharks, 43.6%; tunas, 6.9%; billfish, 1.7% and other species, 3.7%–. As far as only the bycatch species are concerned, large pelagic sharks were the most prevalent, comprising an average of 78.0% of the total bycatch in weight, whereas tunas accounted for 12.3%; billfish, 3.1% and other species, 6.6%. The blue shark and the shortfin mako were the most important species within the group of large pelagic sharks, reaching prevalences of 86.0% and 10.8%, respectively.