Live bait is carried in a big tank on deck and these small fish are thrown overboard to attract schools of tuna when on the fishing grounds. Once tuna begin to strike, the crew starts fishing with poles and lines using a feather lure that contains a barbless hook.
Today tuna are mainly caught with purse seines which, due to the size of the fish, are made with heavy twine.
Catching tuna with purse seines is the most efficient method currently available. The catches of tunas by purse seines have increased rapidly since the early 1980s and large part of this increase has been due to increased used of fish –aggregating devices.
Some tuna may still be taken with pole lines and some with troll lines. In the Pacific, about 70 percent of the catch of principle market tuna is taken by purse seiners, 10 percent by pole and line and 8 percent by long-lines. In the Indian Ocean, these values are 45, 15 and 20 percent.
Fishing tuna
