The estimation of bigeye tuna (Thunnus obesus, (Lowe, 1839)) fishing season in the East Indies Ocean which is disembarked in Benoa Port, Bali

Prediction about fishing season is needed for fishing operation, so it can help fisherman to catch a big number of fish with effective and efficient. This study was started on May – June 2018. This study aimed to analize fishing season pattern of big eye tuna in Indian Ocean. Historical data about fish production and fishing effort of long line vessel for 5 years (2013-2017) collected from Indonesia Tuna Longline Asociation (ATLI) in Benoa Port, was used to calculate monthly CPUEs which were then analyzed using average percentage methods to obtain fishing season index for each month and sea surface temperature (SST) data collected from satellite. The result shows that big eye tuna can be caught along the year, but there was a pattern that fishing season occurs from June – September, December, and April with the peak season in east season. Optimum distribution of sea surface temperature base on big eye tuna’s fishing ground ranged from 27-27.5 °C.