Saving Seafood

Mission to remove tons of garbage from marine sanctuary underway

September 14, 2022 –A million-dollar mission to remove garbage from an important marine sanctuary is underway.

Kevin O’Brien, founder of Papahanaumokuakea Marine Debris Project, and his crew of 16 are preparing for their fifth mission to clean the Papahanaumokuakea Marine Sanctuary in the Northern Pacific, more than 1,000 miles away from Honolulu.

“There’s the main Hawaiian islands,” O’Brien explained pointing at a map. “Big Island, Kauai — and then we’re headed up here. This little string of tiny dots is Papahanaumokuakea.”

They depart Thursday for the month-long expedition.

According to O’Brien, they’ll likely return with garbage weighing as much as a small commercial jet airplane. He said it will fill three shipping containers and be piled in a huge mountain of garbage on the deck.

Read the full article at KHON

NTSB: Electrical fault suspected in Hawaii longliner fire

September 9, 2022 — An electrical fault likely triggered a wheelhouse fire that doomed the Hawaii-based longliner Blue Dragon in November 2021, according to a new report from the National Transportation Safety Board.

The agency’s findings stress two major “lessons learned” from the Blue Dragon case: The danger of substandard electrical systems, and the value of personal locator beacons (PLBs) as a safety supplement to emergency position indicating radio beacons (EPIRBs).

Both types of beacons played a critical role in the survival and speedy rescue of the Blue Dragon crew after the fire cut off their wheelhouse communications and knocked out vessel power, the report notes.

The 85-foot steel vessel departed Honolulu Oct. 25 with a crew of six and a National Marine Fisheries Service observer, to fish for swordfish and tuna. At around 11:30 p.m. Nov. 9 the crew was preparing to retrieve the gear about 350 miles off the coast of California, as the owner-captain napped in the wheelhouse, according to the NTSB report narrative.

The observer entered the wheelhouse, discovered a fire burning under the controls console and woke the captain. The observer discharged a dry chemical fire extinguisher into the fire, alerted the crew, and a deckhand arrived with another fire extinguisher.

“The deckhand described the forward bulkhead as being on fire all the way to the overhead of the wheelhouse,” the NTSB report states. “When the remaining crew came to assist, they opened the wheelhouse doors, which, according to the NMFS observer, appeared to fan the flames. While the crew was attempting to fight the fire, the NMFS observer and a deckhand retrieved the 10-person life raft and the vessel’s GNSS-enabled EPIRB from above the wheelhouse. They carried the life raft aft to the vessel’s stern and deployed it into the water.”

The observer went to his berth to retrieve a bag with his NMFS-issued survival suit, EPIRB, PLB, and satellite emergency notification device (SEND), a Garmin inReach. He used the SOS button on the Garmin and texted a “fire” message, manually activated the Blue Dragon’s EPIRB and his own PLB.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

Hawai’i Longliners Partner with Researchers to Chart Marlin Migration in the Pacific

August 10, 2022 — The following was released by the Pacific Islands Fisheries Group and the Large Pelagics Research Center:

The most comprehensive effort to date to characterize striped marlin (Kajikia audax) movements in the Central North Pacific has revealed unexpectedly broad movements among tracked specimens, with some traveling to the east coast of Australia or halfway to California from their dispersal points around Hawai‘i.

The original research, funded by a NOAA Saltonstall-Kennedy Program grant, was conducted by scientists associated with the Hawai‘i-based Pacific Islands Fisheries Group (PIFG) and the Large Pelagics Research Center (LPRC) in Massachusetts. It was recently published across two papers in the peer-reviewed journal Frontiers in Marine Science.

The papers’ findings could inform future fisheries management measures affecting striped marlin, at a time when K. audax – a top incidental catch of the longline fishery – is considered overfished in the Western and Central North Pacific.

“There is a major lack of information on the movement and ecology of striped marlin in the Central North Pacific,” said co-author and LPRC Director Molly E. Lutcavage.

“The last dedicated study of striped marlin in the Central North Pacific was almost two decades ago, and involved only a handful of marlin captured by recreational, or sport, fishers.”

Lead author Chi Hin Lam, Clayward Tam and Lutcavage partnered with commercial vessels belonging to the Hawaii Longline Association to deploy 31, $4,000 popup archival satellite tags (PSATs) on striped marlin between 2016 and 2019. Tam’s cooperative, science-based relationships with skilled longline captains made the partnerships successful.

“This is another example of the Hawaii longline vessels playing a significant role in cooperative research with leading scientists,” said Eric Kingma, Executive Director of the Hawai’i Longline Association (HLA). “We have a long history of scientific collaboration and our fleet has served as a research platform for decades. HLA congratulates the authors on their important findings and looks forward to working with PIFG and other scientists on future fisheries management and marine conservation research.”

The PSATs recorded vast horizontal movements throughout the Pacific Ocean, challenging previously-held notions that striped marlin are highly localized in their regional, coastal aggregations.

The tagged marlin, which were tracked for up to one year, routinely crossed multiple fisheries management boundaries and ocean features like seamounts and fracture zones.

One tagged marlin, PG01, made a trans-Pacific journey not previously observed for its species. Having been tagged in the Eastern Pacific Ocean, PG01 eventually made its way thousands of miles to the central east coast of Australia.

“We didn’t expect a tag showing up off Australia,” Lam said. “I would say that was 50% luck and 100% hard work. Consulting with our captains and tagging partners docked at Pier 38 in Honolulu and providing first-hand training for scientific tagging paid off.”

The tags also showed the striped marlin spent 38 and 81% of their day and night, respectively, in the top five meters of the water column.

The papers’ horizontal and vertical movement data is important for fisheries managers and stock assessment scientists, who require timely, high-quality biological and habitat data to inform population modeling and stock status.

Such data also helps identify best practices to support sustainable harvest, which could include mandated live release and time-area restrictions.

“Longline fisheries targeting tuna and swordfish benefit from any scientific information that helps to reduce unintended interaction with non-targeted catch like marlin, while pursuing economic returns on targeted catch of tuna and swordfish,” Lutcavage said.

In addition to monitoring tagged fish, researchers collected fin clips from Hawai‘i-landed striped marlin. Genetic analyses of 55 striped marlin were assigned to two genetic groups: Australia, New Zealand and Hawai‘i (19 individuals) and Hawai‘i alone (36 individuals), suggesting the Hawai‘i-based longline fleet interacted with individuals from multiple populations.

Lam, Tam and Lutcavage believe more PSAT efforts and genetics analyses are called for, to fill in the scientific gaps underscored by their latest striped marlin research. Improved technology and knowledge of the species’ biology, physiology and life history will better inform management measures for the sustainable harvest of bigeye tuna and swordfish, and a reduction of incidental catch of non-target species like the striped marlin.

Nearly 100,000 pounds of debris and ghost nets removed from reefs off Hawaii by freedivers

August 4, 2022 — A team of free divers removed nearly 100,000 pounds of debris and ghost nets from reefs and beaches off of Hawaii.

Team members with the Papahānaumokuākea Marine Debris Project (PMDP), a Hawaii-based non-profit organization, returned to Honolulu on Saturday aboard the 185-ft ship M/V Imua cleared 97,295 pounds of marine debris — including 86,000 pounds of ghost nets — from reefs and beaches of the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument (Northwestern Hawaiian Islands).

Ghost nets, or large, tangled masses of discarded fishing nets, get caught on shallow coral reefs of the Hawaiian Islands, which smother and break living coral colonies. The nets also threaten endangered marine wildlife.

Read the full article at KITV

HAWAII: Day without ahi affects Honolulu restaurants and customers

July 25, 2022 — A Manoa Poke Shop is back in business after an Ahi shortage forced them to close for a day earlier this week. Restaurants and wholesalers tell KITV4 no Ahi ships came in on Thursday.

Off the Hook Poke Market was deliciously busy Saturday. The same cannot be said for their Thursday.

The President of the Hawaii Longline Fishing Association, which represents commercial fishermen, is quick to dispel rumors Hurricane Darby had anything to do with the drought. Ahi fishing has been having a down year, but he thinks something else may be at work.

Still the fisherman, Off the Hook, and it’s customers are all optimistic. “By nature fishermen are positive thinking when it comes to fishing. the next fish is always going to be on the next hook,” said Martin.

Read the article at KITV

Western Pacific Fishermen Losing Last Vestiges of U.S. Waters Open to Fishing; Council Frustrated

June 29, 2022 — Sanctuaries, marine monuments, no-fishing zones — Western Pacific fishermen are trying to hold on to as many areas open for fishing as they can.

Last week, the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council supported permitting non-commercial fishing and prohibiting commercial fishing in the Monument Expansion Area of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, from 50 to 200 nautical miles.

However, Council members were infuriated because continuing to close areas to fishing is an affront to indigenous peoples. Members stressed the importance of continuing indigenous cultures and practices. Guam Council Vice Chair Manny Dueñas noted that permitting fishing perpetuates Hawaiian culture, and does not preserve it in a pickle jar.

“Whether they decide to or not, I want the Hawaiians to have the opportunity to be able to practice their culture,” Duenas said in a press release.

“It is important that we allow Native Hawaiian traditional practices, but minimize the impacts from non-native fishing,” David Sakoda, Council representative for the State of Hawai‘i, added.

Read the full story at Seafood News

Council Offended by Removal of Last Vestiges of US Ocean Waters Open to Fishing

June 24, 2022 — The following was released by the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council:

The Council supported permitting non-commercial fishing and prohibiting commercial fishing in the Monument Expansion Area of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI) (50 to 200 nautical miles). Council members were infuriated because continuing to close areas to fishing is an affront to indigenous peoples. Members stressed the importance of continuing indigenous cultures and practices. Guam Council Vice Chair Manny Dueñas said, “Permitting fishing perpetuates Hawaiian culture, and does not preserve it in a pickle jar. Whether they decide to or not, I want the Hawaiians to have the opportunity to be able to practice their culture.”

“It is important that we allow Native Hawaiian traditional practices, but minimize the impacts from non-native fishing,” said David Sakoda, Council representative for the State of Hawai‘i.

Council Executive Director Kitty Simonds asked, “How much more protection would we have by an overlay of the sanctuary? Closing these waters to protect migratory fish is futile when the fish move everywhere.”

The Council will develop the details for provisions related to non-commercial fishing in the NWHI, including Native Hawaiian practices and cooperative research to amend the Council’s Fishery Ecosystem Plans for initial action in September.

The Council also discussed a proposal to further expand the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument (PRIMNM), closing waters 50 to 200 nautical miles seaward of Palmyra Atoll, Kingman Reef and Howland and Baker Islands. The existing PRIMNM already closes all waters 0 to 200 nm around Wake Island, Johnston Atoll, Jarvis Island, and closes waters 0 to 50 nm from the proposed island areas.

“With the additional restrictions that keep getting placed on indigenous fishermen, pretty soon no one will be able to go fishing. This has got to stop,” emphasized Monique Amani, Council member from Guam. “During the pandemic, the islands came together to utilize their subsistence traditions of fishing to support each other.”

Expansion would jeopardize the viability of the tuna cannery in American Samoa, the largest employer in the territory. The cannery relies on fish supply from the U.S.-flagged purse seine fleet, which has declined from 38 to 13 vessels. Closing the remaining U.S. waters of Howland, Baker, and Palmyra Islands forces U.S. purse seiners to fish farther away from American Samoa and thereby deliver their catch to closer ports, like Ecuador.

“More than half of the people in American Samoa live below the poverty level,” said Council Chair Archie Soliai. “If the president signs off on this, it will be in conflict with his executive order on advancing equity and environmental justice in underserved communities.”

CNMI Council member McGrew Rice added, “We need to consider that the Pacific Remote Islands monument is surrounded by more than 3,000 foreign vessels that fish in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean. All it’s doing is increasing fishing privileges for competing foreign fleets that don’t manage to our standards.”

Council members continued to express frustration with restricted access to fishing within monuments and sanctuaries in their areas. “What is the point of a monument expansion?” asked Guam Council member Chelsa Muña-Brecht. “Is it to preserve the pretty fish in the area? It doesn’t serve the community and doesn’t level the playing ground between U.S. and foreign fishers.”

The Antiquities Act that presidents use to establish monuments is not a transparent process, but implemented through a “top-down” approach that conflicts with equity and environmental justice principles. “The Antiquities Act was intended to protect burial sites and relics of indigenous people. It is not an appropriate approach to marine conservation – we have the MSA for that,” said John Gourley, Council vice chair from the CNMI. “Monument designation bypasses the courtesy of involving affected communities.”

Hawai‘i Council member Matt Ramsey said, “To avoid unintended consequences, it’s critical that stakeholder engagement occurs early on in the process of developing a fisheries management proposal. Those most impacted by a management action need to have an opportunity to learn about the proposed action and share their perspective.”

The Council will ask President Biden for a comprehensive evaluation of the unintended consequences of the proposed expansion and that any measures be evaluated through a transparent and public process prior to implementation.

Council Concerned With Lack of Support for Western Pacific Fishing Communities

June 22, 2022 — The following was released by the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council:

On the first day of the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council meeting, members learned that while the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) FY2022 budget increased this year, the Council’s annual request was reduced by $343K. This cut will impact capacity-building efforts, the annual report on the status of fisheries in the region and the protected species program.

Council members were critical of the devaluing of fisheries in the Pacific Islands. Council Chair Taotasi Archie Soliai was concerned that Council programs are being impacted. “NMFS keeps talking about equity and justice, but this is not seen in our islands.”

Soliai continued, “Our economies and cultures depend on the ocean and fishing,” noting the proposed closure of the remaining waters of the Pacific Remote Island Areas north of American Samoa. Governor Mauga of American Samoa asked President Biden not to expand the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument, while Governor Ige of Hawai‘i supported the request by the Pacific Remote Islands Coalition (PRIC). “Hawaii has a large, highly developed and diversified economy. American Samoa does not,” said Governor Mauga. “American Samoa is highly dependent on the United States for financial assistance to support our infrastructure, harbors, airports, hospitals, and schools. If our tuna industry collapses, American Samoa will become more dependent on U.S. financial aid.” Links to the governors’ letters can be found here: www.wpcouncil.org/event/191st-council-meeting-virtual.

Manny Dueñas, Council vice chair from Guam, echoed the chair’s comments, noting that the reduction of funding and additional closures are a “personal and major concern to the fishing communities in the islands” and that “in the Marianas, we need to fish to feed our people.”

Council members discussed a delinquent NMFS draft bottomfish fisheries biological opinion (BiOp) that was provided to the Council less than three weeks ago for comments. The publication of the opinion took three years to develop and John Gourley, Council vice chair from the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas (CNMI), commented, “fishermen have been waiting for this to be completed to ensure they weren’t adversely affecting the protected species in their area.”

Council members also expressed their frustration with BiOp delays for the Hawai‘i deep-set longline and American Samoa longline fisheries, noting the extended delays create uncertainties that cause anxiety. The Council Executive Director Kitty Simonds reminded the NMFS regional administrator that there is a policy directive that recognizes the Council’s unique role in helping NMFS comply with the Endangered Species Act. The Council remains optimistic that it will have the opportunity to review draft BiOps prior to its next meeting in September.

The Council also requested the U.S. Coast Guard station a fast response cutter in American Samoa to support U.S. coastal security, national and international fishery patrols, search and rescue and national defense. As international fisheries around American Samoa grow, the Council would like to ensure that illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing does not encroach into the U.S. exclusive economic zone.

The Council will convene tomorrow, Wednesday, June 22 for the second of its three-day meeting to review and potentially make recommendations on protected species, pelagic and international fisheries, and program planning and research. The full agenda, background documents and instructions for connecting to the meeting and providing oral public comments are available at www.wpcouncil.org/event/191st-council-meeting-virtual