Saving Seafood

Hawaii longliners will convert to mono leaders

December 2, 2020 — Longline fishermen based in Hawaii will voluntarily switch to using monofilament leaders on their gear to promote shark conservation, the Hawaii Longline Association announced this week.

Based at Honolulu Harbor, the fleet of about 140 active vessels produces 90 percent of U.S. bigeye tuna and 50 percent of its swordfish and was sixth in landed value among U.S. ports with $100 million in 2018. The longline fishery is closely monitored and uses a suite of mitigation tools to reduce interactions with protected species.

That includes a 45-gram minimum weight on baited lines so they sink quickly and out of depths where seabirds forage and use of circle hooks to reduce interactions with sea turtles and false killer whales. But sharks are still more likely to be caught by circle hooks, according to the association.

“Hawaii longline vessels don’t retain sharks and most are released alive, but since most sharks are unable to bite through a wire leader, some sharks die on the line,” the group explained in a statement. “Unfortunately, this includes oceanic whitetip sharks, which are now listed as ‘threatened’ under the Endangered Species Act.”

Read the full story at National Fisherman

Scientists Set Acceptable Biological Catch for American Samoa Bottomfish, Recommend Rebuilding Plans for American Samoa and Guam Bottomfish

December 2, 2020 — The following was released by the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council:

The Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) of the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council concluded its two-day virtual meeting today. Key outcomes addressed the American Samoa and Guam bottomfish fisheries and measures to mitigate incidental interactions of the Hawai‘i longline fishery with protected species.

American Samoa Bottomfish

To address overfishing in the American Samoa bottomfish fishery, the SSC recommended a phased-in acceptable biological catch (ABC) of 5,000 pounds in fishing year 2021 and 2000 pounds in fishing year 2022. This option provides a gradual reduction in the ABC and allows limited access to offshore banks to access culturally important deep-water snappers.

To rebuild the overfished American Samoa bottomfish stock within the next 10 years per the Magnuson-Stevens Act (MSA), the SSC supports an annual catch limit (ACL) of 1,500 pounds. An in-season accountability measure will be implemented to track the catch relative to the ACL. Federal waters will close to bottomfishing when the ACL is projected to be reached.

SSC members discussed the practicality of enforcing fishing regulations between territorial and federal waters. The distribution of bottomfish using a habitat proxy showed 85% is found in territorial waters. The reduction of catch through this federal action only constitutes a minute portion of the total catch, but a significant proportion of the deep-water bottomfish species found on the offshore banks.

The SSC expressed concerns regarding the data-limited nature of these fisheries that hampers their accurate representation and the ability to properly manage them. The COVID-19 pandemic affected implementing the data collection programs. The SSC noted that if there is no new data to support the new benchmark assessment aside from changing the modeling approach, then the fishery may still end up with the same stock status.

The SSC reiterated its recommendation that the next benchmark bottomfish stock assessment in 2023 analyze the deep-water complex separately from the shallow-water complex. The SSC also recommended that the Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center conduct a data workshop with the American Samoa bottomfish fishermen, local fishery agency and other interested parties to discuss the data and model assumptions that will be used in the next assessment.

To rebuild the overfished Guam bottomfish stock, the SSC supports either an ACL of 27,000 pounds, rebuilding the stock in four years, or an ACL of 31,000 pounds, rebuilding in six years. Both options include an in-season accountability measure and mitigate short-term impacts to the fishery by allowing moderate catch levels, while still rebuilding the stock within 10 years.

The SSC also supported an experimental fishing permit application submitted by the Hawaii Longline Association to test tori line efficacy without the use of blue-dyed bait when fishing north of 23 °N. Field trials of tori lines conducted in 2019 indicate albatrosses are at least 2 times less likely to interact with longline gear or bait when the bird scaring lines are used in conjunction with the required blue-dyed bait. Data from the Hawaiʻi longline fishery have shown that blue-dyed bait is less effective than side-setting, another seabird mitigation measure required in the fishery.

The permit would allow additional at-sea trials by providing an exemption to the existing seabird mitigation measures under the Council’s Pacific Pelagic Fishery Ecosystem Plan requiring the Hawaiʻi deep-set longline fishery use blue-dyed bait when stern-setting in this region. The study will inform the Council’s discussion on modifying seabird mitigation measures in the longline fishery.

Recommendations made by the SSC on these and other matters will be considered by the Council when it meets Dec. 2-4, 2020, virtually with host sites at BRI Building, Suite 205, Kopa Di Oru St., Garapan, Saipan, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI); and Tedi of Samoa Building, Suite 208B, Fagatogo Village, American Samoa. Instructions on connecting to the web conference, agendas and briefing documents are posted at www.wpcouncil.org/meetings-calendars. Host sites are subject to local and federal safety and health guidelines regarding COVID-19; check the Council website for updates.

Hawaii Longline Vessels to Improve Shark Conservation with Gear Change

November 30, 2020 — The following was released by the Hawaii Longline Association:

Hawaii-based longline vessels will voluntarily switch to monofilament leaders to promote shark conservation, the Hawaii Longline Association (HLA) has announced.

The Hawaii longline fishery is among the most comprehensively managed in the world. With around 140 active vessels based out of Honolulu Harbor, the fleet is highly monitored and subject to a suite of leading protected species mitigation measures. These measures include requiring 45-gram minimum weights so that hooks will sink quickly out of seabird foraging depths, as well as the use of a type of “circle” hook that reduces the severity of interactions with sea turtles and false killer whales.

Although beneficial for sea turtles and false killer whales, sharks are more likely to be caught by the circle hooks. Hawaii longline vessels don’t retain sharks and most are released alive, but since most sharks are unable to bite through a wire leader, some sharks die on the line. Unfortunately, this includes oceanic whitetip sharks, which are now listed as “Threatened” under the Endangered Species Act.

Switching to monofilament leader material will allow sharks to bite through the line just above the hook, thus reducing the severity of the interaction that otherwise would occur using wire leaders. Monofilament leaders will also facilitate releasing sharks and other animals, as the material is much easier to cut than wire. Crew safety remains paramount, and the transition to monofilament leaders will be phased to ensure safety. However, the Hawaii Longline Association is setting July 1, 2021 as the target for the fleetwide conversion.

“This is an industry-led initiative to promote shark conservation and another example of the Hawaii longline fleet as a global leader in responsible fishing practices,” says HLA Executive Director Eric Kingma, PhD.

Read the full release here

HAWAII: Swordfish season could re-open later this year

April 10, 2019 — A sudden end to the “Swordfish Season” for Hawaii long-liners, but not because the fish stock is running low.  Instead, it is because of run-ins with another ocean creature.

While those fishing boats are now idle, Hawaii’s swordfish season could get a second wind.

Alicia’s Market in Kalihi is known for its seafood, including the swordfish it sells.

“I dry my swordfish. I have smoked swordfish, and I use a lot of the fresh nairagi,” said Leonard Kam, the owner of Alicia’s Market.

Hawaii’s longline fishing boats are no longer reeling them in as swordfish season has come to an end.

“This year the swordfish industry is closed, it closed about two weeks ago,” stated Eric Kingma the Executive Director for the Hawaii Longline Association.

Read the full story at KITV4