1999 



OUR LIVING OCEANS 



Table 17-1 



Productivity In metric tons 

 and status of western Pacific 

 bottomfish and pelagic 

 armorhead. 



'Approaching full utilization leve 



^Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands 



^Fishing moratorium currently in effect within U S EEZ (Hancock Seamountsl, fishery considered overfished at seamounts outside US EEZ. 



CPUE 

 (t/hour) 



of some 1 ,000,000 t of pelagic armorhead. Facing 

 a steady decline in CPUE after 1972, the former 

 Soviet fleet left the fishery alter 1975. The com- 

 bined c.itch index tor all seamotints has remained 

 depressed since the late 1970's. The inckision in 

 1977 of the southernmost seamounts (Hancock 

 Seamounts) into the U.S. Exclusive Economic 

 Zone (EEZ) allowed for a small portion of the 

 fishery to be tnanaged in a limited way. A prelimi- 

 nary fishery management plan was developed that 

 year which provided for limited foreign harvest- 

 ing at the Hancock Seamounts under a permit 

 system during 1978-84. However, catches re- 

 mained low, and all fishing ceased after 1984. 

 Under the Fishery Management Plan for the 

 Bottomfish and Seamount Groundfish Fisheries 

 of the Western Pacific Region, a 6-year fishing 

 moratorium was imposed on the Hancock Sea- 

 mounts in 1986. The moratorium was extended 

 for rwo additional 6-year periods, the latest start- 

 ing in 1998 and ending in 2004. 



Figure 17-1 



CPUE in metric tons (t) per 

 hour for pelagic armorhead 

 taken by the Japanese trawl 

 fishery. 



Year 



SPECIES AND STATUS 

 Bottomfish 



In Hawaii, the bottomfish species fished in- 

 clude several snappers (ehu, onaga, opakapaka), 

 jacks (ulua, butaguchi), and a grouper 

 (hapu'upu'u), whereas in the more tropical waters 

 of Guam, Mariana Islands, and American Samoa, 

 the fishes include a more diverse assortment of spe- 

 cies within the same families as well as several spe- 

 cies of emperors. These species are found on rock 

 and coral bottoms at depths of 50-400 m. Catch 

 weight, size, and fishing effort data are collected 

 for each species in the five areas. However, the sam- 

 pling programs vary in scope between the areas. 

 About 90"/ii of the total catch is taken in Hawaii, 

 with the majorit\' of the catch taken in the MHI 

 as compared to the NWHI (Figure 17-2). 



Stock assessments, though somewhat limited, 

 indicate that the spawning stocks of several im- 

 portant MFll species (elm, li.ipu'tipti'u, onaga, 

 opakapaka, and uku) are at only 5-.50% of origi- 

 nal levels. Onaga and ehu presently appear to be 

 the most stressed among MHI bottomfish species. 



Pelagic Armorhead 



The seamount groundfish fisher\' has targeted 

 just one species: the armorhead. Since 1976, this 

 bottom trawl fishery has been almost exclusively 

 conducted by Japanese trawlers fishing the sea- 



190 



