73 



Figure 16-2.— Spiny and slipper 

 lobster landings and fishing 

 effort in Hawaii, 1977-90. 



Coral 



A short-lived (1974-79) fishery for several 

 gold and bamboo corals and for pink coral 

 existed off Makapu'u Point, Oahu, Hawaii. 

 Since then, the prohibitive cost of Fishing 

 such difficult-to-harvest, deep-water corals 

 has stifled U.S. exploitation. With the ex- 

 ception of one aborted attempt at Hancock 

 Seamount in the Hawaiian EEZ in 1988, 

 legal domestic harvesting of precious coral 

 within the EEZ has been nonexistent for 1 2 

 years (Fig. 16-3). There are no recreational 



coral fisheries. Precious corals within the 

 EEZ are managed under the Precious 

 Coral FMP, set in September 1983 by the 

 WPFMC. Fishing is by regular or "experi- 

 mental" fishing permit only. The FMP reg- 

 ulates precious coral fisheries within the 

 EEZ management unit seaward of the MHI 

 and rHWHI, Guam, American Samoa, and 

 the U.S. Pacific Island possessions of John- 

 ston Atoll, Kingman Reef, and Palmyra, 

 Wake, Jarvis, Howland, and Baker Islands. 



Figure 16-3.— Landings of 

 precious corals from Hawaiian 

 waters, 1966-90. 



