Ecuador had an excellent skipjack tuna fishing season last year. The Ecuadorian fleet increased its skipjack catches by a staggering 55%, reaching a volume of 132,984 M/T (between January-November 2011) and hitting a new record compared to the same period during the 5 previous years.
According to data published by the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC), Ecuador continues to increase its tuna catching share in the EPO holding 36.5% of the total catch, again breaking its record compared to its share the last 5 years and maintaining its leading position. Skipjack represents 71% of the country’s total catches and the boost is mainly due to abundance of this species.
Ecuador leading position is followed by Mexico with 24% share, Panama 11%, Venezuela with 9% and Colombia 8%. Panama’s share has decreased 4 points since 2007; total catches have lessened in 5,668 M/T since then. Venezuela, Colombia and Nicaragua have preserved its share along the years.
Despite these good catches of last year, recently prices of whole round skipjack in Manta have been reaching historically high levels. Skipjack 1.8 kg up is now being quoted around USD 2,000 landed in the port of the main tuna processing area of the country.
