81 



Figure 18-3.— US. albacore 

 landings from the Pacific Ocean, 

 the North Pacific, and the South 

 Pacific, 1970-90. 



Billfish and 

 other species 



Species included here are the blue, black, 

 and striped marlins; swordfish, sailfish, 

 shortbill spearfish, wahoo, mahimahi (dol- 

 phin fish), pompano, and several oceanic 

 sharks (requiem, thresher, hammerhead, 

 and mackerel). They generally range from 

 North America to Asia and between the 

 North and South Pacific STCZ's. They are 

 more abundant near islands, continental 

 slopes, seamounts, and oceanic fronts, 

 and many are important to local econo- 

 mies; they are caught by foreign and U.S. 

 fishermen, both sport and commercial. 



U.S. commercial fishing gears include 

 drift gill nets, handlines, harpoons, long- 

 line, trolling, and rod-and-reel. Anglers use 

 only rod-and-reel. Swordfish and thresher 

 sharks are taken by longline around the 

 Hawaiian Islands and by harpoon and drift 

 gill net off North America. 



(J.S. fisheries are generally dwarfed by 

 foreign fisheries (mostly longline and drift 

 gill net). There is no international authority 

 managing these species in the Pacific. (J.S. 

 management authority rests with the West- 

 ern Pacific Fisheries Management Council 



for Hawaiian and Western Pacific waters, 

 and with the Pacific Fisheries Management 

 Council for North American waters (al- 

 though the latter has delegated manage- 

 ment to the State of California for 

 swordfish, striped marlin, and some 

 sharks). Owing to the many species in this 

 category, no precise value can be calcu- 

 lated for the annual catch. However, the 

 catch of swordfish and blue and striped 

 marlins are each valued in excess of 

 $2,000/t. 



Catches of billfish and other species (Fig. 

 18-4) have been relatively constant, near 

 90,000 t per year, with a slight increase in 

 the most recent years (Table 18-1). Four 

 species dominate the "other" catches: Blue 

 and striped marlins, swordfish, and 

 mahimahi. 



The status of most species' stocks is 

 unknown. Recent assessments with 10- 

 year-old data indicate that swordfish and 

 striped marlin were utilized slightly below 

 LTPY and blue marlin was fished above 

 LTPY; however, new data is needed to con- 

 firm or dispute this finding. 



ISSUES 

 Tunas 



The primary issue facing Pacific tropical 

 tunas is the lack of consensus on a plan for 

 gathering and reporting statistics and for 

 setting up a conservation and manage- 

 ment group to represent all interests. The 

 lack of data is critical and prevents tuna 



assessment, management, and protection. 

 Both North and South Pacific albacore are 

 affected by high-seas drift gill nets. The 

 impact of this fishery on the stocks is not 

 clear; however, data from these fisheries 

 are being collected. In the South Pacific, 



