1999 

 OUR LIVING OCEANS 



Yellowfin goatfish, Oahu, 

 Hawaii. 



Ala kumu, also called "7-11 

 crab," Oahu, Hawaii, 



Northern Mjri.uia l.slands. In the M.ini Hawaiian 

 Islands, between 1980 and 1990 an average of 

 1,179 t of fishe.s and invertebrates were reported 

 taken annually within 100 fathoms by commer- 

 cial fishermen. According to the Hawaii Division 

 of Aquatic Resources, the two pelagic carrangids, 

 akule and opelu, support the largest inshore fish- 

 eries in the state. Inuring the 1 993-9^ period, an- 

 nual commercial landings for akule and opclu av- 

 eraged 310 and 160 t, respectively. Other impor- 

 tant commercial fisheries include those for 

 surgeonfishes, squirrelfishes, parrotfishes, goat- 

 fishes, snappers, octopus, and various jacks or 

 trevallies. There are significant recreational fisher- 

 ies, but participation, landings, expenditures, and 

 economic values are not well documented. 1 he 

 recreational and subsistence component of 

 Hawaii's marine fisheries was last assessed in 1 986, 

 when it was estimated that 200,000 trips were 

 taken by 6,700 vessels involved in nonmarket fish- 

 ing (which includes recreational, subsistence, and 

 submarket sales). Estimated landings by these "rec- 

 reational" fishermen were 9,525 t (21,000,000 

 pounds), of which 4,536 t (10,000,000 pounds) 

 were sold ($22,000,000). Total direct expenditures 

 by these fisheries was $24,000,000, and the 

 nonmarket value of the fishing experience was 

 valued at $239,000,000. 



The islands of American Samoa are partially 

 surrounded by a narrow fringing coral reef which 

 is inhabited by a diverse array of fishes and inver- 

 tebrates. These are harvested by local residents on 

 an almost daily basis. Total inshore subsistence 

 catch for 1 993-95 averaged 1 60 t worth $S60,00(). 

 The catch is dominated in some years by the coastal 

 migrant atule, but other more resident species such 

 as other jacks, surgeonfish, mullet, octopus, grou- 



pers, and snappers are most consistently taken. 

 Samoans also fish on the predicted nights of emer- 

 gence of the palolo worm, which is considered a 

 delicacy (actually its reproductive segments or 

 epitokes). For Samoan inshore fisheries, downward 

 trends in catch and catch per unit of effort have 

 been observed in recent years, especially when the 

 catches of the highly variable atule have been re- 

 moved from the analysis. 



Guam is the southernmost .uid largest island 

 ill the Mariana Island Archipelago, and like Ameri- 

 can Samoa, the principal inshore fisheries are based 

 on a wide assortment of coral reef fishes. Fishes 

 taken are j.icks and scads (especially attilai, the big- 

 eye scad), surgeonfishes, squirrelfishes, fusilier, 

 rudderfish (guili), snappers, mullet (aguas), goat- 

 fishes (ti'ao), and rabbitfishes (mafiahak). Inver- 

 tebrate species include various marine crabs (in- 

 cluding land crabs), spiny and slipper lobsters, sea 

 urchins, octopus, squid, cuttlefish, tridacnid clams, 

 topshell, chitons, conchs, strombids, and nerites. 

 Guam inshore reefs appear to be fully exploited 

 and have shown signs of overfishing. During 

 1993-95, the catch of nearshore reef fisheries av- 

 eraged 90 t. 



ALASKA REGION 



Nearshore resources provide important sub- 

 sistence and recreational fishing opportunities for 

 Alaskans. Most nearshore fisheries take place in 

 Southeast Alaska near population centers, although 

 subsistence fishing is distributed all along the 

 Alaska coastline into the Bering Sea and Arctic 

 Ocean. The fisheries are a mix of historic fisheries 

 that have intensified and grown to provide sig- 

 nificant local economic benefits from a variety of 

 species (Table 21-6). The nearshore resources and 

 fisheries are managed by the Alaska Dep.imiRni 

 of Fish and Game (ADFG). 



Dungeness crabs are harvested near shore by 

 small-boat commercial fleets and recreational fish- 

 eries priiiiariK in the southeast Alaska, Yakutat, 

 and Kodiak areas. About 30% of the U.S. pro- 

 duction of Dungeness crabs traditionally comes 

 from Alaska. Almost all Dungeness crabs (97%) 

 are consumed domestically. I he value and demand 

 for the crabs are normally high. Gommercial fish- 

 ing effort in the traditional Dungeness crab fish- 



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