Proceedings of the sixth international coral reef symposium

On a total of 363 bottoms longline sets in the SW lagoon of New Caledonia, 45 were surveyed using visual census. Abundance and biomass estimates were derived from these censuses. These estimates were highly correlated to catch per unit effort in numbers and weight. From these relationships were established contour maps of soft bottom fish abundance and biomass. The total biomass of longline catchable fish was estimated between 11800 and 25500 tons with an average of 17700 tons which represents 5.8 tons/km2. It was also estimated that longline catchable fish represented 48 % of the total fish biomass of soft bottoms. Comparisons with other soft bottom fisheries in the region are presented. (Résumé d'auteur