The Hawaii-based Longline Logbook Summary Report
April-June 2008
This report summarizes data on fish catch and fishing effort by Hawaii-based longline vessels during the second quarter of 2008 (Q2-2008). Results are based on the date gear was hauled, as reported by vessel operators to the National Marine Fisheries Service in Federal logbooks of daily fishing activity. The report covers longline operations for fishing trips completed in the second quarter of 2008 and most, but not all, Q2-2008 data from trips that began late in the second quarter and continued into the third quarter of 2008. Therefore, the Q2-2008 summary statistics reported here are preliminary. When data for all second quarter longline operations are available, tables and graphs of summary statistics included in these Web pages will be updated.
During Q2-2008, 123 vessels were active in the Hawaii-based fleet, 1 less than in the Q2-2007 (Table 1, Fig. 1). They made 394 longline trips (4 less than in Q2-2007), including 362 using deep-set gear to target tuna (1 less than in Q2-2007) and 32 using shallow-set gear to target swordfish (3 less than in Q2 2007; Fig. 2). A record 10.2 million hooks were deployed in Q2-2008, 1.2 million more than in Q2-2007 (Fig. 3). The fleet fished mainly outside the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) (72% of the total hooks set), followed by waters within the EEZ of the Main Hawaiian Islands (MHI) (15%), the EEZ of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI) (9%) and the EEZ of U.S. Pacific Remote Islands Areas (PRIA, consisting of U.S. possessions Wake Island, Jarvis Island, Howland Island, Baker Island, Kingman Reef, Palmyra Atoll, and Johnston Atoll) (4%) .
In Q2-2008, the Hawaii longline fleet caught a record 35,543 bigeye tuna (Fig. 4); 81% were caught outside the U.S. EEZ, 7% in the MHI EEZ, 7% in the NWHI EEZ, and 5% in the PRIA EEZ. The bigeye tuna catch-per-unit-of-effort (CPUE) on tuna-targeted trips was 3.6 fish per 1000 hooks, slightly less than last year's CPUE of 3.8 fish per 1000 hooks (Fig. 5). The albacore catch and CPUE on tuna-targeted trips in Q2-2008 were 3,513 fish and 0.4 fish per 1000 hooks, respectively (Figs. 6-7). The yellowfin tuna catch and CPUE (6,718 fish and 0.7 fish per 1000 hooks, respectively) were higher in Q2-2008 than in Q2-2007 (Figs. 8-9).
The Q2-2008 swordfish catch was 6,794 fish, 6% lower than in Q2-2007 (Fig. 10). The smaller second quarter swordfish catch is attributed to fewer shallow sets and lower CPUE than last year. In Q2-2008, swordfish CPUE on shallow-set swordfish-targeted trips was 13.0 fish per 1000 hooks, 10% lower than in Q2-2007 (Fig. 11).
The Q2-2008 striped marlin catch (5,258 fish) and CPUE on tuna-targeted trips (0.47 fish per 1000 hooks) were higher than in Q2-2007 by 100% and 68%, respectively (Figs. 12-13). The Q2-2008 blue marlin catch (1,591 fish) was higher than in Q2-2007 by 39% while CPUE on tuna-targeted trips (0.13 fish per 1000 hooks) was the same (Figs. 14-15).
The fleet caught 12,311 sharks in Q2-2008, of which 656 (5%) were kept. Blue shark comprised 80% of the total shark catch (9,823 fish) (Fig. 16). Blue shark CPUE on shallow-set swordfish-targeted trips was 3.2 fish per 1000 hooks (Fig. 17).
In Q2-2008, the Hawaii longline catch of other key pelagic species included 17,714 mahimahi (Fig. 18) with a CPUE of 1.5 fish per 1000 hooks on tuna-targeted trips (Fig. 19); 3,812 moonfish (Fig. 20) with a CPUE of 0.39 fish per 1000 hooks on tuna-targeted trips (Fig. 21); 11,901 pomfret (Fig. 22) with a CPUE of 1.2 fish per 1000 hooks on tuna-targeted trips (Fig. 23); and 5,628 wahoo (Fig. 24) with a CPUE of 0.57 fish per 1000 hooks on tuna-targeted trips (Fig. 25). A high percentage of the catch of these species was kept.
The summary statistics in Table 1 are based on logbook records from all fishing areas combined and all types of longline trips—those targeting swordfish and those aimed at catching tuna. Hence, the CPUE figures in Table 1 differ from those reported above, which were calculated using data exclusively from tuna-targeted trips or swordfish-targeted trips, depending on the species of interest.
The longline logbook statistics reported above refer to all fishing areas combined. Q2-2008 summary catch and effort were also compiled by several geographical sub-areas including: the MHI EEZ; the NWHI EEZ; the PRIA EEZ; the combined EEZ of MHI, NWHI and PRIA; and waters outside the U.S. EEZ. These statistics are presented in Tables 2-6. Q2-2008 summary statistics for the entire fishing area are presented for each distinct trip type: shallow-set swordfish-targeted trips (Table 7) and deep-set tuna-targeted trips (Table 8).
To supplement the summary longline fishery statistics for Q2-2008, graphs of annual Hawaii longline fishing effort and catch by species for the years 1991-2007 are presented in Figs. A1-A7.
In addition to the tables and graphs referenced in the narrative above, this Web site has an archive of quarterly and annual summary tables of fish catch and fishing effort from 1991 to present. The statistics in the online graphs and archived tables are updated periodically as new records are added to the database and corrections are made.