UNIT 1 7 



WESTERN PACIFIC BOTTOMFISH 

 AND ARMORHEAD FISHERIES 



75 



INTRODUCTION 



The bottomfish fishery geographically en- lands (CNMI), and the Territory of Ameri- 



compasses the Main Hawaiian Islands 

 (MHI), the Northwest Hawaiian Islands 

 (NWHI), the Territory of Guam, the Com- 

 monwealth of the Northern Marianas Is- 



can Samoa (Table 17-1). In contrast, the 

 pelagic armorhead is fished on several un- 

 dersea peaks called "seamounts." 



Table 17-1— Recent average, 

 current potential, and long-term 

 potential yields in metric tons (t), 

 and status of utilization of 

 bottomfish and pelagic 

 armorheads. The LTPY, CPY, and 

 RAY for the unit equals the sum 

 of the species' LTPY's, CPY's, and 

 RAY'S. 



Long-term potential yield (LTPY) = 

 Current potential yield (CPY) = 

 Recent average yield (RAY) 1 = 



2,800 t 

 801 t 

 571 t 



198&90 average 



SPECIES AND STATUS 



Bottomfish 



In Hawaii, the bottomfish species fished 

 include several snappers, jacks, and grou- 

 pers, while in the more tropical waters of 

 Guam, CNMI, and Samoa the fishes in- 

 clude a more diverse assortment of species 

 within the same families as well as several 

 species of emperors. They are found on 

 rock and coral bottoms at depths of 50-400 

 m. 



The Guam, CNMI, Samoa, and MHI fish- 

 eries employ relatively small vessels on 

 1 -day trips close to port; much of the catch 

 is taken by either part-time or sport fisher- 

 men. In contrast, NWHI species are fished 

 by full-time fishermen in relatively large 

 vessels on trips of up to 10 days and far 

 from port. Fishermen use the handlining 

 technique in which a single weighted line 



with several baited hooks is raised and 

 lowered with a powered reel. 



Catch weight, size data, and fishing effort 

 are collected for each species in the five 

 areas. However, the sampling programs 

 vary in scope between the areas. About 

 90% of the total catch is taken in Hawaii, 

 nearly equally divided between the MHI 

 and the NWHI (Fig. 17-1). 



Stock assessments, though somewhat 

 limited, indicate that the spawning stock of 

 at least four major MHI species (opa- 

 kapaka, ehu, onaga, and ulua) are at only 

 20-30% of original levels. Thus, overutiliza- 

 tion is a concern, and, the Western Pacific 

 Fishery Management Council has recom- 

 mended some form of management. 



Pelagic Armorhead 



The seamount groundfish fishery targets 

 just one species: The pelagic armorhead. 

 It is fished on many of the undersea peaks 

 of the Hawaiian Ridge and Emperor sea- 

 mount chains, though only a small area, 

 the Hancock seamount, is within the U.S. 

 EEZ. The armorhead was fished by the 

 Japanese and, until 10 years ago, by So- 

 viet bottom trawlers. The catch peaked in 

 1972 with catch rates exceeding 60 t/hour 



but then dropped to very low levels. The 

 combined population on all seamounts 

 collapsed to about 0.5% of the 1972 level 

 by the early 1980's (Fig. 17-2). The catch 

 was regulated on Hancock seamounts in 

 1977 under a Preliminary Management 

 Plan, but catches still declined and fishing 

 was stopped in 1984. In 1986, under the 

 Bottomfish and Seamount Groundfish 

 FMP, a 6-year fishing moratorium was im- 



