Pelagic Fishery
Introduction
The Northern Mariana Islands pelagic fishery occurs from the island of Farallon de Medinilla south to the island of Rota.
The major domestic commercial pelagic fishery of the CNMI is a small boat, one-day troll fishery. In the past few years, there has been a fairly rapid increase in the number of boats in the CNMI, about 70% of which are used in the commercial fisheries.
The vast majority of the domestic catch is consumed locally, but there have been some exports of fish to Guam and Hawaii.
Boats
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| A typical tuna trolling boat (Click on picture for a larger picture) |
The pelagic fishing fleet, other than charter boats, consists primarily 12 to 24 foot outboard powered, runabout-type vessels which usually have a limited 20-mile travel radius from Saipan. A few larger boats are also used. In 1997, about 74% of all registered boats participated in some form of fishing activity. One hundred and thirty-two vessels were identified as being involved in full-time commercial fishing and 101 vessels were classified as part-time. Subsistence fishing and/or recreational usage included 306 vessels.
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| A large Charter trolling boat on land for repair (Click on Picture for a larger picture) |
In 1997, 43 vessels were registered with the Boating Safety Office as charter vessels, although only 11 vessels conducted full-time charter fishing operations, two of which were full-time shallow water bottom fishing. One vessel sunk while actively chartering. No lives were lost.
The remaining 34 charter vessels are associated with part-time fishing and the tourist transport industry. Charter vessels generally retain their catches, selling half or more to local markets. While the general magnitude of charter boat sales is unknown, it is questionable whether the local market can absorb these catches without impacting commercial fishermen.
Species
The primary marketable target species for the pelagic fleet is skipjack tuna. Yellowfin and mahimahi have also become marketable species. During their seasonal runs, these fish are usually found close to shore and provide easy targets for the local fishermen. In addition to the economic advantages of being near shore and their relative ease of capture, these species are widely accepted by all ethnic groups. This has kept market demand fairly high due to the continuing immigrant population growth on Saipan (over half of the population on Saipan is non-native).
