Construction and application of indicator system for host state selection in skipjack tuna (Katsuwonus pelamis) purse seine fishery in the West and Central Pacific Ocean

The skipjack tuna purse seine fishery in the West and Central Pacific Ocean is a typical kind of distant water fishery. The selection of host states decided by pelagic fisheries companies is influenced by various aspects such as resources factors, economic factors and social factors. To enhance economic performance of pelagic fisheries companies, taking the 5 host states of Micronesia, Papua New Guinea, Marshall Islands, Nauru and Kiribati as subjects, and based on previous studies about resources distribution and fisheries risks, an indicator system for host state selection in skipjack tuna purse seine fishery was built under Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). Aiming at maximizing the profit, the system consisted of 3 first-level indicators which were resources situation, economic costs and fishery risk as well as 8 second-level indicators. Based on statistical data from Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) and survey data from pelagic fisheries companies from 2017 to 2020, taking the entry-fishing effectiveness of 5 entry-fishing countries as an example to verify the indicator system. Results showed that Nauru was the most suitable entry-fishing country with stable scores over 65 among 5 years, while Marshall Islands was the worst with scores lower than 65. By the way, the scores of Micronesia, Papua New Guinea and Kiribati were unstable and slightly lower than that of Nauru. Among the two-level indicators, resource situation played a vital role and the economic costs was in the next place, while fisheries risks had the most minimal impact. The weights of first-level indictors in descending order were resource situation (0.479), economic costs (0.372), fishery risks (0.149). The weights of second-level indictors in descending order were resource abundance (0.265), vessel day access fee (0.171), time for searching (0.151), percent of suitable habitat (0.148), social stability (0.078), foreign relations of the state (0.071), percent of species with high commercial value (0.066) and time for transferring (0.050).Our study systematacially summarized the current status of Chinese Katsuwonus pelamis purse seine fishery and provided references for pelagic fisheries companies.