Data description on fisheries bycatch in the chub mackerel fisheries in China

Chub mackerel (Scomber japonicas), bule mackerel and sardine fishes are key economic and ecological species in the Northwest Pacific Ocean. Most of the Chub mackerel and sardine catches were harvested by the lighting purse seine fishery in China. It need noticed that the Japanese sardine catch increased from a very low production in 2014 to a peak (266615 tons) in 2022. Squid and saury are by catch or inevitable catch in the mackerel fisheries, and the annual output and proportion were very low whether in purse seine or trawl fisheries. The catch of other fish species such as pelagic species were also very low. Since it is not the main catch, it is difficult to make accurate statistics.