Saving Seafood

Council Holds First Virtual Fishers Forum Highlighting Fishermen Contributions to Science and Management

September 1, 2020 — The following was released by the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council:

More than 100 people participated in the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council’s first virtual Fishers Forum and review of Hawaiʻi small-boat fisheries management Aug. 27, 2020. The theme for the forum was fishermen, particularly non-commercial fishermen, contributing to the knowledge base for fishery scientists and managers. Scientists highlighted research projects that depend upon fishermen input and collaboration to be successful. Council staff informed participants about Hawaiʻi small-boat fishery management regulations currently in place and discussed future options for mandatory permitting and reporting.

Hawaiʻi small-boat fishery management and other matters will be considered by the Council’s Scientific and Statistical Committee when it meets Sept. 9-10, 2020, by web conference (Webex) and during the Council meeting Sept. 15-17, 2020, also by web conference with host sites at Cliff Point, 304 W. O’Brien Dr., Hagatna, Guam; Hyatt Regency Saipan, Royal Palm Ave., Micro Beach Rd., Saipan, CNMI; and Department of Port Administration, Airport Conference Rm., Pago Pago International Airport, Tafuna Village, American Samoa. Instructions on connecting to Webex, agendas and briefing documents will be posted at www.wpcouncil.org/meetings-calendars.

Fishermen Helping Science

Molly Lutcavage, Pacific Islands Fisheries Group (PIFG) and Large Pelagics Research Center, demonstrated how fishermen helped to identify tuna movement patterns through fish tagging, which is critical to answering many scientific and management questions. Cassie Pardee and John Wiley, Poseidon Fisheries Research, shared how biosamples provided by fishermen, primarily at fishing tournaments, contributed to the determination of coral reef fish life history characteristics such as life span and reproductive age and size. Justin Hospital, National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Pacific Islands Fishery Science Center (PIFSC), emphasized that fishermen’s responses to socioeconomic surveys is critical to support effective fisheries management because it helps NMFS better understand the fishing community and its motivations and the benefits and costs of regulations, among other issues.

Review of Hawaiʻi Small-Boat Fisheries Management

Council staff gave an overview of Hawaiʻi small-boat fisheries regulations in effect and current sources of fishery data. Non-commercial fishermen are not required to report their fishing effort, catch or participation, resulting in the bulk of the data used in management decisions coming from commercial data logbooks and non-commercial estimates derived from surveys and models, which are highly uncertain. This uncertainty may lead to future possible allocation management measures between non-commercial and commercial sectors.

The Magnuson Stevens Act, under which the Council operates, requires the regular review of fishery ecosystem management plans to evaluate their effectiveness. During his opening remarks at the forum, Ed Watamura, Council vice chair for Hawaiʻi, asked listeners to imagine “fishery regulations that are created and never revisited, never reviewed and never taken off the books, even though they are not working and not enforceable.” In October 2019, the Council directed staff to review Hawaiʻi small-boat fisheries management. The overall process of reviewing regulations includes many steps such as the public scoping meetings held in February 2020 across the state that pointed at the need for non-commercial fishery data, and developing options for mandatory permitting and reporting.

The options presented ranged from taking no action, continuing to rely on existing data gathering methods and potentially leading to impacts from quotas and international management, to mandatory reporting that would provide the data needed for science and management in federal waters but would require fishermen to apply for permits or provide catch reports, something that would be unfamiliar to them.

Since the late 1980s and early 1990s, the Council has worked to resolve conflicts between longline vessels and small-boat fisheries due to overlapping fishing grounds and effort. Longliners from the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean traveled as close as three miles out from the main Hawaiian Islands to set their lines. In response, the Council initiated 50 and 75-mile longline exclusion zones.

Several forum participants expressed concern about the possibility of removing the longline exclusion area, while others echoed the need for more fishery data, asked about plans for additional fish aggregating devices and encouraged the Council to focus their efforts on marketing and promoting local, fresh seafood.

Electronic Reporting Project Bringing More Timely Data to Hawai’i Longline Fisheries

August 31, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

With 145 vessels completing more than 1,600 trips annually, the Hawaiʻi longline fisheries set more than 20,000 fishing lines each year. Data collected from all of these trips provide critical information for monitoring fishing quotas and fish populations. For each set, captains complete a paper logsheet and staff at our Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center process it—this takes a lot of time. A pilot electronic reporting project demonstrates that the new technology is showing promise in streamlining and shortening this process.

Most vessels target tuna on deep-set trips, with some targeting swordfish on shallow-set trips. Once a vessel returns to the dock, the captain has 72 hours to submit the logsheets. Then, our staff perform checks and validations before entering the data, a process that takes about 3 weeks. This lag can make monitoring less efficient.

We conducted a project in collaboration with the Fisheries Information System program using electronic reporting technologies. It showed that these technologies can improve the quality and timeliness of the data for scientists, managers, and industry.

The electronic reporting initiative had its beginnings in 2007 when the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council and NOAA Fisheries allowed longline permit holders the option to submit their logsheets electronically. In 2016, the Fisheries Information System program provided funding to the science center to develop electronic reporting applications and provide tablet computers to the Hawaiʻi fisheries. FIS is a state-regional-federal collaboration with the mission of improving access to comprehensive, high-quality, timely fisheries information.

Read the full release here

Hawaiian Monk Seal Translocation Project Improves Survival

August 31, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

In a recent study, we found that our Hawaiian Monk Seal Research Program’s translocation efforts from 2012 to 2014 proved highly successful. Translocation is “the deliberate movement of organisms from one site for release in another.” It has been broadly applied to manage and conserve terrestrial wildlife since the 1800s. But it is far less common in the marine world, and is rarely applied to marine mammals. However, our team’s efforts buck that trend—about 400 monk seals have been translocated since the 1980s.

Most of these actions were taken to reduce immediate risks associated with the seals’ location:

Monk Seal Recovery Efforts

These translocations are part of many activities our researchers and staff conduct to improve the survival of seals:

  • Removing marine debris from entangled seals and from their habitat
  • Removing fishing hooks embedded in seals’ bodies
  • Re-uniting mothers and pups who become separated
  • Mitigating shark predation
  • Rehabilitating injured, sick or starving seals
  • Vaccinating seals to prevent disease (distemper) outbreaks
  • Conservation translocation

We estimate that up to one-third of the remaining monk seals are alive due to these and other interventions.

Read the full release here

Wespac Reconsiders Rule That Keeps Longliners From Fishing Near Hawaii’s Shores

August 31, 2020 — Hawaii’s commercial fishing industry leaders are weighing whether to uphold the boundary that prohibits longline vessels from fishing within 50 miles of the main islands’ shores, a review that has some small-boat fishermen nervous.

Several of those operators, who fish closer to shore, pushed back against lifting the so-called “Longliner Exclusion Zone” during a virtual “Fishers Forum” held last week by the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council.

The zone has been in place for nearly 30 years and extends to 75 miles in some places. A Wespac flyer for the event solicited public input on whether it’s still needed.

That got the attention of local fishermen such as Chris Freed. “Why is this even happening?” the Oahu fisherman said during his testimony. Freed and other fishermen said they’d actually like to see the 50- to 75-mile boundary for longliners extended even farther.

Read the full story at the Honolulu Civil Beat

Summary of Proposed Action Items for the 183rd Meeting of the WPRFMC

August 31, 2020 — The following was released by the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council:

  1. Specification of Annual Catch Limit and Accountability Measures for the Main Hawaiian Islands Uku Fishery for Fishing Year 2022-2025
  2. Mandatory Electronic Reporting in the Longline Fisheries
  3. Reasonable and Prudent Measures and/or Reasonable and Prudent Alternatives for the Deep-Set and American Samoa Longline Fisheries
  4. Modifications to Pacific Remote Island Area (PRIA) Objectives and Projects in the PRIA Marine Conservation Plan
  5. Options for Mandatory Permitting and Reporting for Hawai’i’s Small-Boat Fishery

The 183rd meeting of the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council will convene Sept. 15-17, 2020, by web conference (WebEx). The WebEx link is https://tinyurl.com/183CouncilMtg and the password is: CM183mtg. Host sites will be available at the following locations (subject to local and federal safety and health guidelines regarding COVID-19; please check Council website for updates):

  • Cliff Pointe, 304W. O’Brien Dr., Hagatna, Guam;
  • Hyatt Regency Saipan, Royal Palm Ave., Micro Beach Rd., Saipan, CNMI; and
  • Department of Port Administration, Airport Conference Room, Pago Pago Int’l Airport, Tafuna Village, American Samoa.

The Council will consider and may take action on the issues summarized below (click here for copy), including any public comments on them. Written public comments on final action items should be received by the Council’s executive director by 5 p.m. (Hawai’i time), Friday, Sept. 11, 2020, by postal mail, fax or email as indicated below.

Instructions for connecting to the WebEx and providing oral public comments during the meeting will be posted on the Council website at www.wpcouncil.org/event/183rd-council-meeting.

$510K to research climate impacts on Hawaiʻi fisheries

August 27, 2020 — To better understand climate impacts on pelagic and coastal fisheries in Hawaiʻi, the Pacific Islands Ocean Observing System (PacIOOS) Ocean Modeling Group was awarded $510,000 in grant funding by NOAA’s Climate Program Office.

A suite of projections will be developed to predict future changes through the end of the century in order to inform adaptive management strategies in the Pacific Islands region. Modeling results will be made available through PacIOOS, based at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology (SOEST).

In the southern portion of the subtropical gyre, Hawaiʻi marine ecosystems are impacted by waters from the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre as well as the western Pacific—creating a distinct regime for ocean life to thrive. Climate change will alter planetary circulation, resulting in potentially longer and more intense marine heat waves in the Pacific and potentially stronger El Niño impacts.

Read the full story at the University of Hawaii News

WPRFMC: Upcoming Virtual Fishers Forum on Thursday, Aug. 27, 2020

August 19, 2020 — The following was released by the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council:

Do you fish from a boat? Do you catch tunas, mahimahi, ono, or uku? Then we want to talk to YOU!

The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council is hosting a virtual public meeting to get comments on options for mandatory permitting and reporting as well as the effectiveness of the longline prohibited area around Hawaii. Come to the meetings, talk story with us and let us know how YOUR fisheries should be managed!

Hawaii Small Boat Fishery Fact Sheet
Hawaii Fisheries Fact Sheet

Can’t make it to the public scoping meetings but want to provide comments? Fill-out a comment form online at: https://forms.gle/AoFMcMTP4axUvrKF6

Public comments will be accepted until September 7, 2020, C.O.B.

For more information, questions, etc. please contact Council staff Joshua DeMello at (808) 522-7493 or Joshua.DeMello@wpcouncil.org.

Four-year forecasts possible for Hawaii bigeye tuna fishery

August 14, 2020 — Measuring the extent of microscopic ocean plant life around Hawaii could reliably predict bigeye tuna catch rates four years out for Hawaii’s deep-set longline fleet, according to a new study by researchers at the Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center.

“Bigeye tuna are the primary target species of Hawaii’s most valuable commercial fishery, a longline fishery with landings that are valued at over $100 million and that account for nearly half the United States tuna landings,” NMFS scientists Phoebe A. Woodworth-Jefcoats and Johanna L. K. Wren wrote in their study, published July 22 in the journal Fisheries Oceanography.

“A reliable predictor of targeted species catch rates could help the fishery time fishing activity and plan capital improvements. It could also potentially inform adaptive management and facilitate ecosystem‐based fisheries management.”

Using routine oceanographic measurements including satellite data for sea surface chlorophyll and temperature, the researchers calculated the median size of microscopic plants, called phytoplankton, over the calendar year and the extent of the fishery area around the Hawaiian Islands.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

Scientists Develop Annual Forecast for the Hawaiʻi Bigeye Fishery

August 6, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Scientists in the Pacific Islands region published new research that can help predict catch rates in the Hawaiʻi longline fishery. Drs. Phoebe Woodworth-Jefcoats and Johanna Wren found that information about phytoplankton (microscopic algae) can be used to forecast catch rates for bigeye tuna. They used the size of phytoplankton to forecast catch rates for up to 4 years. This information could help advance ecosystem-based fisheries management in the Pacific Islands region.

Woodworth-Jefcoats and Wren hypothesize that the size of phytoplankton is an indicator of the quality of food for larval and juvenile bigeye tuna. While bigeye tuna don’t actually eat phytoplankton, they do eat zooplankton that eat phytoplankton. Zooplankton are tiny animals that drift with the ocean currents and are prey to many oceanic species. When there is more large phytoplankton, there is likely more large zooplankton and more high-quality food for young bigeye tuna. And when young bigeye tuna have better food, more of them survive to reach adulthood. These fish are then available for capture by the Hawaiʻi fishery.

Read the full release here

HAWAII: DLNR opposes regional fishery council’s request to allow commercial fishing in Papahanaumokuakea

July 27, 2020 — The state Department of Land and Natural Resources has sent a letter to President Donald Trump opposing a request by a regional fishery council to allow commercial fishing in the Papahanaumokuakea and Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monuments.

The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council (Wespac) sent a letter to Trump on May 8 in response to Trump’s executive order promoting American seafood competitiveness and economic growth.

In the letter signed by council chairman Archie Taotasi Soliai and Wespac executive director Kitty Simonds, the council asked the president to “please consider lifting the fishing restrictions in the Pacific marine national monuments and allowing America’s fishermen to fish again in the US EEZ (exclusive economic zone)….”

Read the full story at the Honolulu Star Advertiser