Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center Archives - Saving Seafood

Success of the 2021 Mission to Clean up Marine Debris

September 27, 2021 — Scientists and divers from NOAA’s Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center and local nonprofit Papahānaumokuākea Marine Debris Project (PMDP) returned to Honolulu on September 22, 2021, from a 30-day mission. The team removed marine debris from the shallow reefs and shorelines of the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument. These remote islands and atolls are centered among Pacific currents that carry lost and abandoned fishing nets and gear from all over the Pacific Ocean. The debris entangles wildlife and damages corals. Even during this mission, the team disentangled a 5-year-old female Hawaiian monk seal from derelict fishing rope.

The project staff collect valuable data during these missions:

Assessing the abundance and distribution of marine debris across Papahānaumokuākea
Evaluating rates of marine debris accumulation
Measuring habitat damage and the negative impacts of marine debris on coral reefs
Gauging recovery of coral reefs after marine debris removal
Increasing public awareness of marine debris issues through communication and outreach

The team of 16 divers expected to remove more than 110,000 pounds of derelict fishing nets, plastics, and other marine debris. Over only 18 days, they collected even more—nearly 124,000 pounds of debris—from these islands, atolls, and reefs of the monument:

Kamokuokamohoaliʻi (Maro Reef)—nearly 43,000 pounds
Kuaihelani (Midway Atoll)—approximately 24,500 pounds
Manawai (Pearl and Hermes Atoll)—23,650 pounds
Hōlanikū (Kure Atoll)—nearly 16,000 pounds
Kapou (Lisianski Island)—nearly 11,500 pounds
Kamole (Laysan Island)—more than 5,000 pounds

Read the full story at NOAA Fisheries

US Pacific Fishery Managers Support Climate Change Research to Inform Management Decisions

September 22, 2021 — The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council voted today to approve several plans aimed at improving research and data in the region. The Council’s work relies on robust scientific information for its fishery management decisions. The Council and its advisors developed research priorities with the Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, setting the direction for the future.

Climate change is a high priority, in line with the Biden Administration’s efforts to mitigate the impacts and enhance fisheries resilience. Addressing the shift in distribution of stocks and fishing effort due to changes in oceanographic features is a good example.

The Council’s Scientific and Statistical Committee Three-Year Plan focused its priorities on science that directly supports fishery management. A major focus is helping fishing communities to understand the value of data for fishery sustainability.

The Council’s five-year regional research plan is mandated by the Magnuson-Stevens Act. The plan covers research priorities for pelagic and island fisheries, protected species, human communities, cooperative research and management strategy evaluation.

The Council also endorsed the Fishery Data Collection and Research Committee’s strategic plan for 2022 to 2026. The overarching goals of the plan are to:

Build local agency capacity to improve fishery-dependent data collection.
Provide non-peer-reviewed reports and unpublished datasets.
Conduct science and research to support ecosystem-based fishery management.

The Council concluded the first day of its three-day virtual meeting today. The meeting continues tomorrow with decisions on the American Samoa bottomfish rebuilding plan and initial action on seabird mitigation in the Hawai‘i longline fishery. Instructions on connecting to Webex, agendas and briefing documents are posted at www.wpcouncil.org/meetings-calendars.

The Council manages federal fisheries operating in waters offshore of the State of Hawai‘i, the Territories of American Samoa and Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) and the U.S. Pacific Remote Islands Areas.

HAWAII: Marine debris team joins the Papahanaumokuakea Marine Debris Project to remove fishing nets from coral reefs

August 30, 2021 — NOAA and the Papahanaumokuakea Marine Debris Project partner to remove derelict fishing nets from coral reefs across the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument.

Scientists and divers from NOAA’s Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center are teaming up with divers from the Papahanaumokuakea Marine Debris Project for a 30-day mission to remove marine debris from the islands and atolls within the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument.

The team departed Honolulu on the M/V Imua on Tuesday. We expect the ship to return with more than 110,000 pounds of derelict fishing gear and other marine debris at the end of September.

The 2021 marine debris removal mission will focus on surveying for and removing marine debris from coral reefs and coastal environments. They will be working on Kamole (Laysan Island), Kamokuokamohoali‘i (Maro Reef), Kapou (Lisianski Island), Kuaihelani (Midway Atoll), Holaniku (Kure Atoll), and Manawai (Pearl and Hermes Atoll).

Read the full story at KITV

Kui ‘ia ka lei moku e Kanaloa: The Ocean Unites Humanity to Clean Up Marine Debris

August 26, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Scientists and divers from NOAA’s Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center are teaming up with divers from the Papahānaumokuākea Marine Debris Project. They are on a 30-day mission to remove marine debris from the islands and atolls within the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument. The team departed Honolulu on the M/V Imua on August 24, 2021. We expect the ship to return with more than 110,000 pounds of derelict fishing gear and other marine debris at the end of September. The team will focus on removing derelict fishing nets (ghost nets) and other entanglement hazards, which threaten green sea turtles and Hawaiian monk seals. They will be removed from coral reef environments shallower than 30 feet using breath-hold (free-dive) techniques.

Read the full release here

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:

NMFS notifies the permit holder of the requirement.
Permit holders have received the ER tablet (at no cost).
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.

Back to the Field: NOAA Biologists Return to Papahānaumokuākea to Study and Protect Hawaiʻi Wildlife

July 16, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

A team of biologists from NOAA’s Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center is setting off for a field season in the remote islands of the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument. The team departed Honolulu on the M/V Kahana II July 10, and the ship will return August 6. However, most of the biologists will stay behind for a season of hard work collecting data on some of the iconic threatened and endangered species of Hawaiʻi—Hawaiian green sea turtles and Hawaiian monk seals.

The Work of NOAA Field Biologists in the Monument

The primary goal of this research cruise is to set up biological field camps at five sites within the monument:

Lalo (French Frigate Shoals)
Kamole (Laysan Island)
Kapou (Lisianski Island)
Manawai (Pearl and Hermes Reef)
Hōlanikū (Kure Atoll)

Setting up camp on these remote islands is a big undertaking—each camp needs tents and all of the food, fresh water, scientific equipment, and safety supplies that teams of three to seven biologists will need for their stay of over 2 months. The research cruise team will also conduct monk seal surveys at islands where they do not establish camps—Nihoa, Mokumanamana (Necker) and Kuaihelani (Midway Atoll).

Once camps are established, the real work begins. Hawaiian monk seal biologists at the five camps will survey the islands to get an accurate count of monk seals. They will also monitor moms and pups to track reproductive success and attach identification tags to seals’ flippers to help track individuals through their lives. At two of the sites (Lalo and Pearl and Hermes Reef), the team will use an underwater device (sound trap) to record monk seal vocalizations and understand the noises they hear.

Marine turtle biologists will join a team of two who have been at Lalo since early spring. The turtle team will count and tag male turtles and nesting female turtles, monitor nest success, and collect samples from hatchling turtles.

Read the full release here

Public–Private Partnership Remains Key to the Annual Bottomfish Survey in Hawaiʻi

July 12, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

There is light at the end of the tunnel as many of the restrictions associated with the coronavirus pandemic start to relax. However, restarting large-scale research and survey operations takes time. The 2020 Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center Bottomfish Fishery-Independent Survey in Hawaiʻi (#BFISH) was highly successful. It showed that cooperative research fishers, working in partnership with NOAA, can achieve a high degree of effectiveness and efficiency. In 2021, NOAA will continue to rely on our 10-year cooperative research partnership with the local fishing community to conduct survey operations critical to fishery management in Hawaiʻi.

The annual survey became operational in 2016. It continues to provide important local abundance estimates used in the Main Hawaiian Islands Deep 7 Bottomfish Stock Assessment.

A key difference between #BFISH and many of our other research missions is its foundational partnership with the local fishing community. Traditionally, the NOAA Ship Oscar Elton Sette conducts stereo-video camera deployments. Local fishers contracted through Lynker Technologies and the Pacific Islands Fisheries Group conduct research fishing operations. They use traditional hook-and-line methods to collect samples within an experimental design developed in close partnership with Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center scientists. As in 2020, our Lynker/Pacific Islands Fisheries Group partners will conduct 100 percent of the sampling, including both fishing and camera operations.

Read the full release here

$210M federal award to fund UH research focused on how ecosystems are changing

June 10, 2021 — A small trap sits on the coral reef for four months, imprisoning tiny particles for environmental DNA analysis. These findings give researchers a snapshot in time of the microhabitats of our oceans, and in the long-term, a sense of how our ecosystems are changing.

This is just one of the many research projects developed by students at the University of Hawaii at Manoa through the Joint Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research — a partnership with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Last week, NOAA set plans to continue their 44-year-old partnership, awarding $210 million to the University of Hawaii — more than double the amount of previous funding. The money will go toward the next five years of research for NOAA’s new institute: the Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research.

According to deputy director of NOAA’s Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center Tia Brown, CIMAR “will help NOAA achieve our mission to better understand the ocean and atmosphere, which depends on all the research that we do … as well as the data and information to make sound decisions for healthy ecosystems, communities and a strong blue economy.”

In fiscal year 2022, CIMAR will continue the work of JIMAR while expanding to eight new research themes: ecological forecasting, ecosystem monitoring, ecosystem-based management, protection and restoration of resources, oceanographic monitoring and forecasting, climate science and impacts, air-sea interactions, and tsunamis and other long-period ocean waves.

Read the full story at Hawaii News Now

Climate Change: NOAA Fisheries Supports Coastal Communities

June 8, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

By now we have all heard about climate change and some of us may have started to notice changes out on the water. Warmer ocean temperatures, more frequent algal blooms, your favorite species arriving earlier in the fishing season—these are all signs the environment is changing. Across the United States, changes in our climate and oceans are affecting our communities, businesses, and natural resources—including our fisheries and coastal habitats.

Climate change is already affecting the productivity, abundance, distribution, and composition of fish stocks that anglers enjoy. As waters warm, popular recreational species like black seabass and flounder are moving north along the Atlantic Coast to keep pace with rising temperatures. In the Gulf of Mexico, species are encountering more frequent algal blooms and expanding low-oxygen zones. Scientists from our Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center have found that Pacific tuna stocks will likely decrease because of climate change, regardless of how we change our management and harvest strategy.

As a result of these kinds of changes, coastal businesses, and the associated industries we cherish, face unprecedented challenges. U.S. recreational and commercial fishing and seafood industries drive $244 billion in annual economic activity and support 1.74 million jobs. These could be disrupted by changes in climate and ocean conditions in the coming decades.

NOAA Fisheries and our partners are working across the country to understand climate challenges and do our part to ensure the sustainability and accessibility of U.S. fisheries. We are working with our partners to provide data and information needed by the fishing public, coastal businesses, local planners, and many others.

Much of this work is implemented through our Climate Science Strategy. The strategy was developed to enhance the production, delivery, and use of climate-related information in resource conservation and management. It is designed to provide decision-makers with answers to four key questions:

What is changing?
Why is it changing?
How will it change?
How best can we respond

Read the full release here

Meet Réka Domokos, Research Oceanographer

June 3, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

What is your key responsibility?

I am part of the Ecosystem Sciences Division at the Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center. I work in the Pelagic Research Program, tackling a lot of questions in the pelagic realm. Part of my work is with the Bigeye Initiative, which focuses on learning all we can about bigeye tuna so that we can predict how the environment affects bigeye tuna and how the fishery will do in the future with natural variability and climate change. This species is the most economically important commercial fish for the deep-set longline fishery here in Hawai‘i. There are five focus areas in the initiative. I am the lead on the bigeye habitat module within the habitat and human dimensions focus. We look at what habitat they use, the ecosystem they are part of, how the environment is affecting tuna, and the oceanographic drivers of the movement and distribution of the fish. I am also the lead for a Center-wide sampling plan that incorporates everything we do in situ within the pelagic region. I am designing our in-situ sampling strategy for the next 5–15 years. I am also the active acoustician, investigating distribution, movement patterns, and abundance of organisms. In my personal research, I am currently looking at the effects of El Niño-Southern Oscillation on the equatorial Pacific tuna fisheries. I am also doing research that uses active acoustics to understand how the environment affects micronketon, which is prey for most of the economically important top predators, including bigeye tuna, as well as protected species.

Where did you grow up?

I grew up in Budapest, Hungary.

What is your educational background?

I used to work as a professional photographer and videographer back in Hungary. When I came to the United States, I was already interested in ethology (the study of animal behavior) and the ocean and decided to go back to school. I earned my undergraduate degree in coral reef fish behavior at UC Berkeley. Then, I came to the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa for my graduate work and received a master’s in marine biology, focusing on coral reef fish behavior. It was during this time that I realized I was really drawn to physics and math so I earned a second master’s degree in physical oceanography then a Ph.D.

Are you a member of a notable community organization, church, or volunteer/mentorship program?

I was very involved in trying to get marriage equality in Hawai‘i many years ago. We had our own group, which was later joined by a national organization Human Rights Campaign. They sent members out to help with campaigning that really helped lay some groundwork. I am also a member of the American Civil Liberties Union.

Is there a book, quote, or person that influenced you to be the person that you are today?

Konrad Lorens, a famous Austrian ethologist back in the early 1900s. I was still a kid when I read his book on imprinting in geese—he proved the concept of imprinting—and it really sparked my interest in animal behavior. I did short films on animal behavior as a photographer. I became fascinated and really interested in ethology and animals in general, which started my science career.

What does PRIDE Month mean to you?

It’s nice to have the recognition. It is not that being gay is really about being proud of it but rather, that it is nothing to be ashamed of. I just am who I am. I believe the visibility PRIDE brings is good for the LGBTQ community. The more visible we are, the more understanding there will be, which leads to greater acceptance. Once people know we are just people, they realize that there is not much difference between us.

What does being a career civil servant mean to you?

The least we can do as humans is to increase our collective knowledge of our environment, because knowledge is power. If we know and understand our natural world, we can help preserve it longer for many of the generations to come.

What advice would you have for today’s youth interested in a federal government career?

I think the best advice I can give is to go with your heart. Whatever you are interested in, just follow that. Don’t think about how much you are going to make or that you might get stuck in a particular field of work. Yyou can always change as you go along—the most crucial thing is to just start learning. I think it’s very important to do something you enjoy. I am sure all jobs have some negative parts, but if you are genuinely interested in the work you do, you will end up happier than having a job just to earn money.

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