1999 

 OUR LIVING OCEANS 



Striped marlin. 



lands, continental slopes, seamounts, and oceanic 

 fronts, and many are important to local econo- 

 mies. They are caught by foreign and U.S. recre- 

 ational and commercial fishermen. 



U.S. commercial fishermen in the western and 

 central Pacific primarily use longline, troll, and 

 handline gear to catch marlins, spearfish, wahoo, 

 and diilphinfish. Recreational fishing gears include 

 rod-and-reel and handline. Sharks are taken by 

 longline in the central North Pacific and by har- 

 poon and drift gillnet off North America. 



Because of the many species in this "other" 

 category, no accurate dollar value can be calcu- 

 lated for the annual catch. However, the U.S. catch 

 of blue anci striped marlin is worth about $2,000/ 

 t ex-vessel, and the U.S. catch of wahoo and 

 dolphinfish is worth more than $4,000/t. 



Three species dominate the reported catches 

 of "other pelagics": blue and striped marlins and 

 sharks (Figure 18-5). Catches in this category by 

 U.S. fisheries for the central and western Pacific 

 increased steadily through the 1980's, leveling out 

 in the l')90's. Pacific-wide shark catches in the 

 carcharhinid and requiem shark categories re- 

 ported to the Food and Agriculture Organization 

 of the United Nations total about 22, ()()() t/year, 

 but pelagic shark catches ate reported by only a 

 few nations. The total Pacific harvest of pelagic 

 sharks is imknown. 



The status of most species' stocks is unknown 

 or uncertain. Assessments using data through 1985 

 indicated that striped marlin were utilized slightly 



below their long-term potential yield, and blue 

 marlin were fished above their long-term poten- 

 tial vield; however, new data are needed to con- 

 firm or dispute these findings. I'he condition of 

 virtualK' all shark species remains unknown. 



ISSUES 



Management Concerns 



There are two primary issues for the manage- 

 ment of pelagic species in the Pacific. The first is 

 the development and implementation of compre- 

 hensive international plans for gathering and re- 

 porting fishery statistics; the second involves set- 

 ting up conservation and management regimes to 

 encompass all interests and ensure sustainable fish- 

 eries. Both the South Pacific I'orum Fisheries 

 Agency treaty talks and the recently begun Interim 

 Scientific Committee for Tuna and luna-like Spe- 

 cies in the North Pacific Ocean appear to be ad- 

 dressing these concerns. The poor quality of some 

 data and the lack of current data in several fisher- 

 ies prevent conducting accurate and up-to-date 

 stock assessments, developing informed manage- 

 ment options, and preparing pragmatic advice for 

 rational exploitation and conservation of the re- 

 source. 



Another major issue affecting virtualK- all fish- 

 eries to some extent is the bycatch taken during 

 fishing operations. Bycatch is defined as the cap- 

 ture or mortality of nontarget species and target 

 species which are not retained (discards). Some 

 examples of bycatch include catches of small tuna 

 discarded by purse seine fisheries; takes of seabirds, 

 including endangered species, .uid sharks discarded 

 b\- longline fisheries; the impact of chase and en- 

 circlement on dolphins in the eastern tropical Pa- 

 cific purse seine fisherv; and the indiscriminate 

 catch, killing, and discarding of nontarget species 

 in purse seine operations around fish aggregating 

 devices and other floating objects. Both U.S. and 

 foreign fisheries are involved in bycatch issues. 



Within the U.S. EE7. of the central-western 

 Pacific, including Hawaii, American Samoa, 

 Guam, and the Commonwealth of the Northern 

 Mariana Islands, the Western Pacific Regional Fish- 

 ery Management Council has developed, and the 

 Secretary of Commerce has approved, a fishery 



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