August 2, 2018 — SEAFOOD NEWS — The 2017 annual reports on fisheries in Hawaii and the U.S. Pacific Islands are now available. Some three dozen reports provide data and trends about last year’s fishery participation, catch rates, landings and other fishery performance factors. Each report also describes ecological components that may impact fishery outcomes, such as protected species interactions, climate and oceanographic conditions and socioeconomic factors. Pacific
A summary of the Western Pacific Region Status of the Fisheries 2017 is available here.
The summary includes descriptions of the fleets, from small sailing vessels to the modern tuna seiners. For instance, here is a description of the American Samoa tuna longline fleet: “The American Samoa longline fleet includes nine vessels greater than 70 feet, five vessels between 50 and 70 feet and one vessel less than 40 feet in length. All but three of the vessels are owned by the families of Samoan women, who manage the vessels.”
The summary also includes all the regulatory actions taken by the Council in 2017, in chronological order.
The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council ensures that fisheries are sustainable and marine resources are soundly stewarded seaward of the state waters of Hawai‘i, American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) and the Pacific Remote Island Areas (PRIA).
To monitor the fisheries, the Council publishes annual reports for the five fishery ecosystem plans (FEPs) that the Council has developed, monitored and amended. The complete annual reports are available here.
Annual reports are produced for each of five fishery ecosystem plans (FEPs) that have been developed, monitored and amended by the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council. They include the Pelagic FEP, the Pacific Remote Island Areas FEP and FEPs for the Hawai’i Archipelago, American Samoa Archipelago and Mariana (Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands) Archipelago.
Except for Hancock seamount armorhead and Western and Central North Pacific striped marlin, none of the fisheries within the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council’s jurisdiction are overfished. The armorhead was over fished by Japanese and Soviet fleets prior to the establishment of the Council and has been under a moratorium since 1986. The striped marlin is over fished due to international fishing.
This story originally appeared on SeafoodNews.com, a subscription site. It is reprinted with permission.