on the fishery and on other resource populations in the 

 same area were not as abundant as for either the Bering 

 Sea or the California Current. 



The sparse data problem was dealt with by setting OY 

 levels for shortfinned squid to 757o of MSY , as opposed to 

 1007 o , to allow for the incomplete data. In effect, the data 

 problem was apparently treated in the plan as an attempt 

 to manage for MSY without knowing MSY accurately, so that 

 the management objective was still single species in essence. 

 However, the setting of OY below MSY could have been inter- 

 preted as minimizing the risk of adverse impacts in the face 

 of limited knowledge of a resource, illustrating one aspect 

 of an ecosystem level perspective on the fishery. 



In addition to inadequate data problems , the squid 

 management plan illustrated the issue of consumptive vs. 

 nonconsumptive values for a fishery resource. Because squid 

 have a short life span, one to two years, individuals which 

 are not taken by a fishery in a given year are lost to the 

 fishery, even though they are still a part of the food cycle 

 within the ecosystem. The plan indicated that squid which 

 were not harvested were "wasted", reflecting a lack of con- 

 sideration of the nonconsumptive values, or a rather low 

 importance associated with those nonconsumptive values . 



While the plan recognized the potential adverse impact 

 on pilot whales of several years of squid scarcity, it was 

 assumed that, under the proposed OY levels, years of squid 

 scarcity would not result. Marine mammals were not addressed 

 further. It would have been useful for the plan to at least 

 acknowledge the optimum sustainable population question, and 

 even more useful to attempt a preliminary quantitative eval- 

 uation of the impacts of proposed squid harvesting on pilot 

 whale food supply. 



Spiny Lobster Draft Plan 



The Western Pacific Council's Spiny Lobster Plan con- 

 cerns a fishery with a potential impact on an endangered 

 species of marine mammal, the Hawaiian monk seal. 



The impact of an increased fishery on monk seals is un- 

 known. The plan acknowledged that the MMPA and ESA completely 

 protect the monk seal. The council has elected to encourage 

 an increasing fishery, and recommended monitoring monk seal 

 populations. The council will not be responsible for the 



39 . 



