Fishery council begins three-day meeting

HONOLULU—The Western Pacific Fishery Management Council begins a three-day meeting today, May 31, to address overfishing of Hawaii bottomfish and Pacific bigeye tuna, a proposed moratorium on black coral harvest in federal waters surrounding Hawaii, community concerns about a shark viewing operation in federal waters off the North Shore of Oahu, and more.

On Dec. 30, 2004, the National Marine Fisheries Service notified the council that over-fishing of bigeye tuna is occurring Pacific-wide. Hawaii-based fisheries catch less than 5 percent of total Pacific bigeye catches, and most of this is caught by commercial longline fishermen. It is unlikely that reductions in catches by small boat fishermen are necessary. However, recreational fishermen are not required to file catch reports with the State of Hawaii and so their impact on the fishery is not clear. The council will consider options to close this information gap. Potential actions include requiring federal catch reports from all small-boat fishermen targeting tunas, requiring federal catch reports from all recreational small-boat fishermen targeting tunas, expanding the current recreational dockside and phone survey program, or implementing a voluntary reporting system for recreational fishermen.

The council has also been recently informed by NMFS that overfishing of bottomfish around Hawaii is likely occurring. The council will consider requirements to obtain catch reports of bottomfish from recreational fishermen similar to those being considered for bigeye tuna. The council will also consider options for reducing bottomfish fishing effort and mortality in federal waters (3-200 miles offshore) surrounding the main Hawaiian Islands, including the closing of Penguin Bank or Middle Bank, imple-menting a limited entry program for bottomfishing in federal waters, or establishing bottomfish quotas.

Recent research by the State of Hawaii reveals declines in the abundance of both larger, older and smaller, younger black corals in waters surrounding Hawaii. Recognizing that a decline in recruitment exists, a moratorium has been proposed on black coral harvests in federal waters surrounding Hawaii for a five-year period. The council will also consider a recommendation that the State of Hawaii be in-formed about the apparent decline of black coral and be encouraged to adopt similar management and research initiatives in state waters 0 to 3 miles offshore as the federal government proposes for federal waters.

Another hot button item on the agenda is council consideration of the impacts of a shark viewing operation on the North Shore of Oahu. At a public meeting conducted by the council on Monday (May 23), fishermen, surfers and other ocean users said the operation has brought more sharks are in the area. The sharks damage fishing lines and increase the risk of shark attacks, they argued.

The council is the agency responsible for managing fisheries in the federal waters (generally 3-200 miles offshore) of the U.S. Pacific islands. Recommendations made by the council are forwarded to the Secretary of Commerce for final approval. For more information on these or other agenda items, contact the council at 808 522-8220, email info.wpcouncil@noaa.gov or visit the council’s website at www.wpcouncil.org.