Saving Seafood

Turtles, Tourism, and Traffic – Keeping Hawaiʻi Honu Safe

August 13, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Sea turtles have long been a key part of the cultural and natural resource heritage of Hawaiʻi. Once sought for their meat, Hawaiian green sea turtles, or honu, suffered a sharp population decline from overharvest in the early 20th century. Today, honu in Hawaiʻi are making a comeback thanks to the support of dedicated community members, and state and federal protections. Increasing numbers of honu in Hawaiʻi mean there is more opportunity for observing them on beaches and in nearshore waters, and where their behavior can be predictable, honu have become a sought-after tourist attraction.

The convergence between turtles, tourists, and traffic can create challenges in areas where the infrastructure may not be sufficient to support large numbers of wildlife viewers. For instance, residents of the North Shore of Oʻahu have expressed concerns about traffic congestion near the popular turtle viewing beach of Laniākea. This situation is not unique to Oʻahu. Communities throughout the Hawaiian Islands are experiencing similar issues that require collaborative solutions.

As the Hawai‘i Department of Transportation works to address traffic and pedestrian safety issues at Laniākea, we at NOAA Fisheries continue to study the basking honu population and work collaboratively on the management and conservation of honu at this and other locations throughout the state.

Read the full release here

Education, conservation, key for Hawaiian monk seal

August 12, 2021 — With fewer than 1,400 Hawaiian monk seals left on earth, and an estimated 10 to 15 that frequent Maui, education and conservation efforts for these endangered animals is all the more important.

Hawaii’s monk seals, or at least one monk seal, garnered lots of attention recently when a tourist was seen on social media touching an endangered Hawaiian monk seal on Kauai.

Touching, harassing, capturing, injuring or killing monk seals is considered a class C felony with the penalty of imprisonment or fines.

“These animals are among the most endangered seals on earth,” said Anne Rillero, communications manager for the Maui Nui Marine Resource Council which hosted a virtual presentation last week called “Saving a Species: Rehabilitation as a Conservation Tool for Hawaiian Monk Seals.”

Rillero in a news release about the presentation added that “public education is needed to help protect our Hawaiian monk seals from harassment or injury.”

Human interaction and harassment are some of the top threats for the species, said Lauren Van Heukelem, the response and operations coordinator at the Marine Mammal Center-Ke Ka Ola rehabilitation hospital on Hawaii island.

During the virtual presentation, Van Heukelem added that other top threats include fishery interaction, entanglement in trash and intentional killings.

Read the full story at The Maui News

WPRFMC, NMFS Modernize Catch Reporting for Hawaii, American Samoa Longliners

August 12, 2021 — Technological progress is coming to the island: Longliners from Hawaii and American Samoa will be required to electronically report their catches beginning next month.

The National Marine Fisheries Service said the regulation is intended to reduce human error, improve data accuracy, save time for fishermen and NMFS, and provide more rigorous monitoring and forecasting of catch limits. The rule goes into effect on Sept. 7.

Read the full story at Seafood News

Modernizing Catch Reporting in Hawaii and American Samoa Longline Fisheries

August 11, 2021 — The following was released by the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council:

The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) announced last week that the requirement for the Hawai‘i and American Samoa pelagic longline fisheries to electronically report their catch will be effective Sept. 7, 2021. This regulation is intended to reduce human error, improve data accuracy, save time for fishermen and NMFS, and provide more rigorous monitoring and forecasting of catch limits.

Development of the electronic reporting (ER) system for the Hawai‘i and American Samoa longline fisheries ramped up about 2014. After several years of development, the Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC) began rolling out the tablets in 2019 for Hawai‘i longline vessels to use on a voluntary basis. At its September 2020 meeting, the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council took final action recommending mandatory implementation.

To support PIFSC’s ER outreach to Vietnamese-American fishermen, the Council hired a Vietnamese-speaking staff. The outreach team introduces the tablet, conducts training and follows up with them after their initial trips to help resolve any issues.

Approximately 115 of the 150 Hawai‘i longline vessels have been trained and are now voluntarily using the tablets ahead of mandatory implementation. PIFSC is also coordinating with local NMFS staff in American Samoa to roll out training for the longline vessels based in Pago Pago. PIFSC will continue to provide training support to bring all vessels into compliance.

After Sept. 7, 2021, Hawai‘i longline vessels and Class C and D American Samoa longline vessels will be required to use electronic logbooks once the following criteria are met:

  1. NMFS notifies the permit holder of the requirement.
  2. Permit holders have received the ER tablet (at no cost).
  3. The vessel operator has obtained an individually assigned user account from NMFS.

Fishermen will be allowed to use paper logbooks as a backup if vessels experience any electronic logbook or transmission problems.

In the past, longline captains filled out one logbook sheet for every day of fishing during their trip. Then they submitted their full trip’s log sheets to PIFSC when they returned to port. The data were verified and manually entered into a database by PIFSC staff.

There was often a several week delay between when the paper logbook was filled out by the captain and when it became available to fishery managers to compare the latest catch information with catch quotas. The delay creates a significant challenge to predict when the fleet will reach annual catch limits, such as for bigeye tuna.

Electronic logbooks automate and streamline many of these steps, allowing near-real-time catch reports. Each vessel is equipped with a tablet loaded with ER software. The tablet is connected to a vessel monitoring system, which transmits the daily logbook data via satellite to NMFS. Daily catch data submission will be required under the new rule while operating in U.S. waters around Hawai‘i, American Samoa and adjacent high seas.

The Federal Register notice is available at: www.wpcouncil.org/fr-notice-electronic-logbooks-for-hawaii-and-american-samoa-pelagic-longline-fisheries-august-5-2021.

Infectious disease found in Hawaiʻi dolphin could spark mass marine mammal deaths

August 9, 2021 — After two years of investigating the cause of death of a Fraser’s dolphin that was stranded on Maui in 2018, researchers discovered a novel strain of morbillivirus, a marine mammal disease responsible for deadly outbreaks among dolphins and whales worldwide. The University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Health and Stranding Lab conducted the necropsy (an animal autopsy) and published the report of the morbillivirus discovery in Nature Scientific Reports. It is the first linked to this dolphin species.

“The 2018 stranding of the Fraser’s dolphin revealed that we have a novel and very divergent strain of morbillivirus here in Hawaiian waters that we were previously unaware of,” said Kristi West, associate researcher at UH Mānoa’s Hawaiʻi Institute of Marine Biology who directs the Health and Stranding Lab. “Morbillivirus is an infectious disease that has been responsible for mass mortalities of dolphins and whales worldwide. It is related to human measles and smallpox.”

The discovery led to a suite of independent tests (immunohistochemistry, culturing of the virus and transmission electron microscopy) to confirm the finding and understand the role of this distinct morbillivirus in the pathology of the Fraser’s dolphin. The UH Health and Stranding Lab only recovers less than 5% of the dolphins and whales that die in Hawaiian waters, which makes detecting disease outbreaks very difficult.

Read the full story at University of Hawaii News

Hawaii Fishermen Concerned Over Growing Chinese Presence

August 5, 2021 — Early morning in Honolulu, yellowfin, bigeye and other types of tuna, along with swordfish, are put up for auction after being offloaded from ships overnight. Longline boats, 145 of them, operate from this port, trailing kilometers-long baited lines. These vessels mostly fish in international waters at least 400 kilometers offshore, alongside boats from Taiwan, China, Japan and South Korea. Wholesale buyers compete for the catch in an early morning auction, and a single high-quality tuna can fetch from several hundred dollars to more than $1,000.

Confrontations are rare on the high seas near Hawaii, where the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command is based and the U.S. Coast Guard maintains a strong presence.

But fisherman here have watched with concern as Chinese fishing vessels intimidate Philippine fisherman in waters that China claims in the South China Sea.

U.S. fishing vessels, on the other hand, face more scrutiny than the Chinese ships. They are closely monitored under U.S. domestic law, says Eric Kingma, executive director of the Hawaii Longline Association, which represents local fishermen.

“We have independent observer coverage levels of at least 20% in our tuna fishery, whereas China barely scratches (reaches) 5%. And we have a whole suite of environmental laws, statutes and regulations,” he said.

Read the full story at Voice of America

NEW STUDY FINDS AGE AND GROWTH OF POPULAR RECREATIONAL FISH

August 3, 2021 — The following was released by Poseidon Fisheries Research using information that was gathered through Council-sponsored efforts to support ecosystem-based management in Hawaii. Click here for the original press release.

The Journal of Fish Biology published the first robust age and maturity study on ulua aukea and omilu by Hawaii fishery scientists. These two jacks are the most important nearshore species targeted recreationally throughout Hawaii, with many fishing clubs and tournaments devoted to them.

Poseidon Fisheries Research (PFR) scientists studied ulua aukea, or giant trevally (Caranx ignobilis), and omilu, or bluefin trevally (Caranx melampygus), to find their growth rate, longevity and maturity. Researchers collected more than 100 samples of each species from recreational fishermen at fishing tournaments, and from the Pacific Islands Fisheries Group and the Hawaii Division of Aquatic Resources.

Scientists found that, just as in humans, as these fish age, their size and weight can vary. The oldest ulua aukea weighed 50 pounds and was 31 years old, while the heaviest (80 pounds) was 24 years old. The oldest omilu was 24 years old at nearly 14 pounds.

Scientists also found that the average size at maturity, a key population metric, differed between males and females. Female ulua aukea matured at 594 mm (about 23 inches) and 4.4 years, while males matured at 465 mm (about 18 inches) and 2.8 years. Omilu reached maturity at 372 mm (about 14.5 inches) and 4.1 years for females and 329 mm (13 inches) and 2.9 years for males.

“The collected age and maturity data will be important for future management of these highly prized and ecologically important predatory species in Hawaii,” said Cassie Pardee, study co-author and PFR fishery biologist. Fishers can be found camping along the coast ready to battle one of the toughest fighting fish and hoping to land a fish that can be upwards of 100+ pounds. “Ensuring that the best scientific data for ulua and omilu are available for stock assessments will allow fishermen to continue fishing sustainably,” added John Wiley, a PFR fishery biologist and co-author on the study.

The study is available in the June 2021 issue of the Journal of Fish Biology https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jfb.14828.

Global Competition Over Fish Stocks Increasingly Affects Hawaii

August 2, 2021 — In the pre-dawn hours of Feb. 1, 2020, the Robin II, a Honolulu-based fishing longliner, was confronted by a larger Taiwanese-flagged vessel about 115 miles south of Hawaii.

The American-flagged Robin II’s owner Jino Lee said the Chi Win No. 1688, also a longliner, aggressively charged his boat as members of both crews argued and shouted in different languages.

The Robin II, which is captained by Lee’s father and has five crew members, is 62 feet long and weighs about 69 tons, while the Chi Win No. 1688 has 30 crew members, is 138.5 feet long and weighs about 327 tons, according to a Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission registry.

As the Robin II’s captain best understood it, the Taiwanese longliner’s crew seemed to believe the Honolulu-based vessel had cut their fishing line. Lee insists that wasn’t the case.

Robin II’s captain got on the radio and told Chi Win No. 1688 that he had called the Coast Guard. The Taiwanese vessel eventually backed off, but not before crew members dumped paint on the deck and sides of Robin II. Repairs cost the Lees more than $2,500.

The confrontation offers a window into the bitter — and sometimes violent — disputes that have gripped fisheries around the world and are coming closer to Hawaii’s shores.

The Coast Guard also said that last year it intercepted several foreign fishing vessels operating within Guam and Hawaii’s maritime borders, known as exclusive economic zones, for the first time since 2012.

Read the full story at the Honolulu Civil Beat

WesPac discusses catch limits

July 26, 2021 — The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council and managers of the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument (PMNM) agreed to work together to develop a draft management plan ahead of the formal sanctuary proposal process scheduled to start this fall.

In December 2020, President Trump signed a funding bill that would strengthen protections for the monument by designating it as a national marine sanctuary.

While the PMNM, and its subsequent expansion, was established via presidential proclamation, the sanctuary proposal process is a bottoms-up approach to management similar to the Magnuson-Stevens Act, and would give the council “a seat at the table” to propose regulations for the entire area.

“After the 2016 expansion allowing recreational and subsistence fishing, we engaged with fishermen and Native Hawaiian communities about fishing in the expanded area,” said council Executive Director Kitty Simonds. “We had sessions about customary exchange, but didn’t get much traction.”

This is allowed in the Marianas Trench and Rose Atoll Marine National Monuments.

Read the full story at Lahaina News

RICK GAFFNEY: Support Small Fishermen By Making It Easier To Buy Fresh Off The Boat

July 19, 2021 — The pandemic changed many things in Hawaii, including access to fresh fish. The swift departure of hundreds of thousands of tourists and the consequent closure of many hotels and restaurants eliminated the bulk of the demand for fresh fish literally overnight.

One major fish wholesaler resorted to curbside sales at Pier 38 in Honolulu Harbor just to keep the lights on, and some large commercial fishing vessel owners shut down to avoid their extensive costs of operation.

Creative solutions for distribution quickly surfaced. Community Supported Agriculture — direct purchasing between consumer and farmer — began flourishing in communities across the state, offering a model for fisheries. Local IA on Oahu, a self-described community supported fishery, provided a direct link for fresh, locally caught seafood.

Roadside fish sales proliferated on all the islands, and fresh fish retailers who could keep their doors open while meeting COVID-19 restrictions engaged long-standing relationships with fishermen to assure that preferred local seafoods were available.

A new app called FishLine — created specifically to help consumers find fresh fish directly from fishermen at no cost to either — also surfaced. FishLine was introduced on the Big Island by the Hawaii Fishing and Boating Association.

Read the full opinion piece at the Honolulu Civil Beat