SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE FOURTH REGULAR SESSION 11-22 August 2008 Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea STOCK STRUCTURE OF SWORDFISH (Xiphias gladius) IN THE PACIFIC OCEAN USING MICROSATELLITE DNA MARKERS WCPFC-SC4-2008/BI-WP-4

SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE FOURTH REGULAR SESSION 11-22 August 2008 Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea STANDARDIZED CATCH RATES IN BIOMASS FOR THE SOUTH CENTRAL AND WESTERN PACIFIC SWORDFISH (Xiphias gladius) FROM THE SPANISH LONGLINE FLEET FOR THE PERIOD 2004-2006 WCPFC-SC4-2008/SA-WP-5

Standardized catch rates in weight were obtained using General Linear Modeling (GLM) from sets carried out by the Spanish surface longline fleet targeting swordfish in the South central and South western Pacific areas during the 2004-2006 period. Year, quarter, area, ratio between swordfish and blue shark species and gear were used for modeling. The model tested explained 75% of CPUE variabilit...

SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE FOURTH REGULAR SESSION 11-22 August 2008 Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea NOTE ON THE STOCK STRUCTURE OF PACIFIC BIGEYE TUNA TO BE USED IN STOCK ASSESSMENTS

SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE FOURTH REGULAR SESSION 11-22 August 2008 Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea COMPARISON OF MATURITY AND AGEING OF SWORDFISH FROM HAWAIIAN AND AUSTRALIAN WATERS

SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE FOURTH REGULAR SESSION 11–22 August 2008 Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea A PRELIMINARY STOCK ASSESSMENT OF BIGEYE TUNA IN THE WESTERN AND CENTRAL PACIFIC OCEAN USING STOCK SYNTHESIS; A COMPARISON WITH MULTIFAN-CL WCPFC-SC4-2008/SA-WP-2

A parallel assessment of the current WCPO bigeye assessment, conducted using MULTIFAN-CL (MFCL), was undertaken using Stock Synthesis (SS) software. The two models incorporated the equivalent data sets (catch, effort, size composition, and tag data) and, where possible, the MFCL assumptions were mimicked in the SS model. Differences in the underlying model structure were noted, where relevant. ...

SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE FOURTH REGULAR SESSION 11-22 August 2008 Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea REPRODUCTIVE ACTIVITY OF SWORDFISH (Xiphias gladius) IN THE PACIFIC OCEAN ON THE BASIS OF DIFFERENT MACROSCOPIC INDICATORS

A total of 23,639 swordfish females were analysed. The percentage of females larger that 145 cm shows important differences among areas. Maximum percentages were obtained in temperate waters South of 25º S and the lowest values in warm areas where small females were observed. The overall sex-ratio obtained was 51%. The sex-ratios at size suggest that females are predominant as of 170 cm althoug...