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Fishery Bulletin 117(4) 
Maps of the Samoa Archipelago, which includes the Territory of Wallis and Futuna Islands, and the Mariana Archipel¬ 
ago highlighting the areas where goldeneye jobfish (Pristipomoides flavipinnis ) and goldflag jobfish (P. auricilla) were 
collected. Goldeneye jobfish were sampled in March and October 2012 and March 2016 in the Samoa Archipelago, and 
goldflag jobfish were sampled in June and July 2014 in the Mariana Archipelago. Open circles indicate areas where 
fishing does not occur, and black circles indicate areas where fishing occurs. Data sources for the base maps: Esri, 
DeLorme, GEBCO, NOAA NGDC, and other contributors. 
The goldeneye jobfish (Pristipomoides flavipinnis) and 
the goldflag jobfish (P. auricilla ) are part of the deepwater 
demersal fishery resources of the Indo-Pacific. These snap¬ 
pers are widespread in the tropical and subtropical Pacific 
Ocean and inhabit rocky seamounts and continental 
slopes at depths of 90-360 m (Anderson and Allen, 2001). 
Both species are fished commercially and for subsistence 
around the populated islands and nearshore banks and 
seamounts throughout their range. In the U.S. territories 
of American Samoa, Guam, and the Commonwealth of the 
Northern Mariana Islands, these species are federally 
assessed and managed as part of a multi-species complex 
composed of 17 shallow-water and deepwater snappers, 
groupers (Epinephelinae), jacks (Carangidae), and emper¬ 
ors (Lethrinidae) (Yau et al., 2016). These assessments use 
fishery-dependent data from creel surveys in a surplus 
production model framework. 
A recent review of this approach recommended explor¬ 
ing approaches based on life history parameters for the 
assessment process, if sufficient species-specific data 
are available. Reliable life history information (e.g., age, 
growth, and mortality) is currently unavailable for any spe¬ 
cies in this complex in the Samoa or Mariana Archipelago. 
Ralston and Williams (1988) estimated von Bertalanffy 
growth parameters and mortality rates for goldeneye 
jobfish and goldflag jobfish in the Mariana Archipelago 
by using the technique of numerical integration of daily 
growth increments. The resulting estimates indicate that 
both species had moderate growth rates and were short 
lived (6.7 and 4.7 years for goldeneye jobfish and goldflag 
jobfish, respectively). However, concerns about underesti¬ 
mation of fish ages produced by this method have arisen, 
especially for longer-lived species; therefore, the estimates 
are considered unreliable (Newman et al., 2016). 
