ABARES Fishery Status Reports map data: Western Tuna and Billfish Fishery (WTBF): fishing intensity and maximum area fished, annual map data for 2010 to 2024

This dataset presents maps of fishing intensity and maximum area fished of ocean waters within the Western Tuna and Billfish Fishery (WTBF). The data were prepared as part of the annual ABARES Fishery Status Reports series, which provides an independent evaluation of the biological and economic status of fish stocks managed solely or jointly by the Australian Government. The data were produced by ABARES from data supplied by the Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA). The data are presented annually, by fishing season which runs from 1 January to 31 December for this fishery. The data are polygon vector format, stored in an ESRI file geodatabase, prepared using ArcGIS Desktop ArcMap version 10.8. There are no fishing intensity data for this fishery because of the low number of fishing boats operating in this fishery. Maximum area fished is defined as the maximum area within which fishing occurred during a given fishing season as polygon cells of one degree of longitude by one degree of latitude (approximately 111 kilometres x 111 kilometres). A cell is included if any fishing activity occurred anywhere within that one degree by one degree cell. Note that cells included in this dataset may also partially cover land. The data supplied by AFMA were filtered to remove activity by fewer than five boats within the area of analysis in order to conform with AFMA’s Information Disclosure Policy (https://www.afma.gov.au/about/fisheries-management-policies/information-disclosure-fisheries-management-paper).