THE AMERICAN SAMOA LONGLINE FISHERY, 1966-71 



Howard 0. Yoshida' 



ABSTRACT 



Aspects of the longline fishery based at American Samoa covering the period from 1966 to 1971 are 

 described. The fishery is discussed primarily as it relates to the albacore, Thunnus alalunga, and to a 

 small extent the yellowfin tuna, T. albacares. The landings of albacore fluctuated between 17,722 and 

 28,310 metric tons from 1966 to 1971. Although no downward trend was evident in the relation between 

 total landings and total effort, the relation between CPUE (catch per unit of effort) and effort showed 

 a definite downward trend. Generally, fishing effort was confined to the north of lat. 20°S in the first 

 and fourth quarters. In the second and third quarters large amounts of effort were also expended south 

 of lat. 20°S. The length-frequency distribution of albacore showed that albacore sizes were stratified by 

 latitude. North of lat. 20°S the size of albacore was rather uniform, in that only a single mode was 

 evident in the length-frequency distributions. South of lat. 20°S two or more modes were evident. 



The Honolulu Laboratory of NMFS (National 

 Marine Fisheries Service) has been involved in 

 assessing and monitoring the fisheries resources 

 and developing the high seas fishing industry of 

 the territories and island possessions of the United 

 States in the Pacific Ocean. Part of this work 

 included an investigation of the longline fishery 

 based in American Samoa, which resulted in a 

 report describing the history of the fishery and the 

 distribution, apparent abundance, and size com- 

 position of albacore, Thunnus alalunga, landed 

 from 1954 to 1965 (Otsu and Sumida 1968). The 

 present report describes the status of the 

 American Samoa longline fishery from 1966 to 

 1971; it is timely because the fishery has changed 

 considerably since 1965, particularly with regard 

 to the apparent abundance of albacore. Data 

 published by Otsu and Sumida will also be used, 

 especially where they are useful in illustrating 

 certain continuing trends. 



The earlier report included a rationale for 

 confining the study to the albacore, the principal 

 species of tuna taken in the fishery. The data were 

 reliable only with respect to albacore because the 

 catches of the other species were often not sold in 

 their entirety to the canneries and, therefore, 

 were not included in the catch reports by the vessel 

 operators. However, as will be discussed later, the 

 vessel operators have expended a considerable 

 amount of effort to catch yellowfin tuna, T. al- 

 bacares, in recent years. It is believed that most of 

 the yellowfin tuna are now included in the catch 



'Southwest Fisheries Center Honolulu Laboratory, National 

 Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA, Honolulu, HI 96812. 



Manuscript accepted February 1975. 

 FISHERY BULLETIN: VOL. 73, NO. 4, 1975. 



reports and this species has become an important 

 factor in the American Samoa longline fishery, 

 and can no longer be ignored. 



The tuna canneries, operated by Star-Kist 

 Samoa, Inc. and the Van Camp Sea Food Com- 

 pany, depend entirely upon deliveries made by 

 foreign flag vessels and fishermen. One of the most 

 notable changes in the fishery over the years has 

 been in terms of vessel nationality. The fishery 

 began in 1954 with seven Japanese vessels. Vessels 

 from Korea entered the fishery in 1958, and from 

 the Republic of China (Taiwan) in 1964. The 

 Japanese continued to increase their participation 

 until 1963, but thereafter began a gradual 

 withdrawal. On the other hand, the vessels from 

 Korea and Taiwan greatly increased in number 

 until the fleet reached a peak in 1967. Due largely 

 to the withdrawal of the Japanese, the fleet has 

 decreased since 1967. During the last quarter of 

 1971 there were 209 vessels in the fleet, consisting 

 of 4 from Japan, 90 from Korea, and 115 from 

 Taiwan. 



SOURCES OF DATA 



The data in this report were obtained through 

 the operation of a field station in American 

 Samoa, established in 1963, and manned con- 

 tinuously through December 1970 by personnel 

 from NMFS, Honolulu. In January 1971 the field 

 station was taken over by the Office of Marine 

 Resources, Government of American Samoa. In 

 the begining, the length, weight, and sex of 50 

 albacore, randomly chosen, were obtained from 

 each trip landing. For various reasons, e.g.. 



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