Tuna fishery is one of the potential fisheries in Vietnam. However, the development of handlines technique in recent years has led to a reduction in the tuna quality which does not meet shasimi grade requirements. To solve this problem, Binh Dinh People Committee in cooperation with Kato - Yamada and Kagoshima University to trial Japanese tuna electric handline hauler at Hoai Nhon district, Binh Dinh province. | Journal of Fisheries science and Technology - 2016 EVALUATE TUNA HANDLINES TECHNOLOGY BY USING JAPANESE ELECTRIC HANDLINES HAULER IN BINH DINH PROVINCE Tran Duc Phu1 Received: 17/8/2016; Revised: 01/9/2016; Accepted: 26/9/2016 ABSTRACT Tuna fishery is one of the potential fisheries in Vietnam. However, the development of handlines technique in recent years has led to a reduction in the tuna quality which does not meet shasimi grade requirements. To solve this problem, Binh Dinh People Committee in cooperation with Kato - Yamada and Kagoshima University to trial Japanese tuna electric handline hauler at Hoai Nhon district, Binh Dinh province. The results of the first 6 trips have showed that, although the catches and Catch Per Unit Effort (CPUE) are lower than Vietnam handlines with light, the experimental trips with Japanese handline hauler have a good result on tuna quality. The shasimi grade accounted for 10 - 15% and B grade for luxury frozen products reached 80%, much higher than Vietnam handlines with lights. Thus, the net profits increased from 10% to 20%. Keywords: Japanese handline hauler, tuna quality I. INTRODUCTION By the end of 2015, Vietnam had 25 thousand offshore fishing vessels, of which, approximately 3,500 tuna fishing vessels (accounted for 14% of offshore vessels) usually operate at Paracel, Spratley, and DK1 fishing grounds. Activities of fishing, processing and exporting tuna have increased recently. The export value has also increased in the recent five-year period. The export value was only 188,694 million USD in 2008; but reached a peak at 596,406 million USD in 2012, accounting for 9,28% of total exported seafood products and increasing mostly 50% in comparison with the figures in 2011 [2]. The tuna handline fishing started in the end of 2011 and has developed in Hoai Nhon district, Binh Dinh province and then expanded to Phu Yen, Khanh Hoa province and some fleets in Quang Ngai province. Specifically, for Binh Dinh, approximately one thousand
