Fisheries and marine resources of Hawaii and the U.S.-associated Pacific Islands: an introduction.

Introduction

Fisheries of Hawaii and the U.S. insular Pacific are quite

different from typical industrial and recreational fisheries of the

mainland U.S. Fisheries productivity in coastal waters of these tropical

and subtropical islands may be similar to that in temperate continental

shelf-slope fish communities (Marten and Polovina, 1982), but the higher

species diversity results in more diverse, lower volume fisheries.

Larger, commercial fisheries are often dependent upon deep water,

slope-dwelling species or the highly migratory pelagics such as tunas

and billfishes. Although land masses in this region are small, the U.S.

Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) surrounding the island areas is immense,

covering over 2 million square miles. Over this broad geographic

expanse, a variety of cultural differences affect fishing practices, and

even those practices present today are significantly different from the

native approaches to fishing methods in Hawaii Smith, 1993) and Guam

(Hensley and Sherwood, 1993). Finally, variations in the population size

and in the fishing pressure on the nearshore ecosystem are marked among

islands, from the highly populated island of Oahu in Hawaii to sparsely

populated islands elsewhere to the mostly uninhabited islands of the

Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI) and Commonwealth of the Northern

Mariana Islands (CNMI).

The objective of this volume is to describe our current knowledge

on the varied fisheries of Hawaii and the U.S.-associated islands of the

Pacific. This introductory paper provides some general background on

fisheries in the region.

Diversity of Fisheries

In the U.S. insular Pacific, the combination of highly complex

habitats, high species diversity, and both native and newly introduced

cultural practices leads to a diversity of fisheries unparalleled in

most other parts of the U.S. Many fisheries are unique to certain

localities, such as that for palolo worm in American Samoa (Craig et.

al., 1993), seasonal juvenile fisheries for rabbitfish in Guam (Hensley

and Sherwood, 1993), and limpet, or opihi fisheries in Hawaii (Smith,

1993). Others are common to all islands, such as the seasonal fisheries

for juvenile bigeye scad in all areas. The adults of these coastal

pelagics, known as akule in Hawaii or atule in American Samoa, represent

the largest volume fishery in nearshore waters but are poorly known in

terms of their resource potential. Nearshore reef resources are often

overexploited in populated areas, a problem perhaps characteristic of

tropical reef fisheries in general (Ferry and Kohler, 1987).

Evolution of Fisheries

With increasing population, changing cultural composition, and

advancing technology, island fisheries have changed in many ways. Prior

to western colonization, indigenous peoples of the islands depended on

the marine environment and had developed a unique knowledge of marine

resources and varied approaches to conservation and management. The

cultural impacts of colonization of the islands by nonindigenous peoples

had marked effects and typically led to the decline of traditional

conservation measures (Johannes, 1978); a concise description of how

this happened in Belau, in the Western Caroline Islands, is provided by

Johannes (1981). In Guam, Spanish persecution of Chammorros led to the

demise of the traditional fishing methods in the mid-1500′s

(Hensley and Sherwood, 1993). Similarly, in Hawaii, it led to the

decline of the traditional management regime of the native Hawaiians

that had long protected nearshore resources (Smith, 1993). Trends in the

fisheries of Hawaii are perhaps the most pertinent to examine, for the

greatest changes have occurred there and these may serve as a warning of

what may come in the other island areas as populations increase there as

well.

Temporal trends of fisheries differ markedly. Shomura(1) described

the differences in fisheries of Hawaii between 1900 and 1986, the early

period based upon a comprehensive data collection scheme and subsequent

analysis by Cobb (1902) and the later period upon State of Hawaii

commercial fishery data collection systems. While the two data sets are

not identical in coverage, they provide useful comparisons. The total

catch nearly doubled in the period considered. Shomura(1) noted several

important trends related to the distance of the fishery from shore.

Catch of coastal species declined by about 80%, while those of

neritic-pelagics (akule, opelu) declined by 40%. Catch of slope and

seamount species increased by 80%, whereas manyfold increases in

offshore pelagics catch were evident.

It is likely that the decline of nearshore fisheries is based

largely upon two factors. First, increasing population and improved

fishing technology led to overfishing in the absence of effective

management and regulations. Gillnet use, for example, is largely

unrestricted, and this can have negative impacts on coral reef fish

populations (Gobert, 1992). Similar concerns are expressed about this

gear in Guam (Hensley and Sherwood, 1993). Second, habitat destruction

from coastal development leads to a decline in availability and quality

of critical habitat area needed to support the reef populations. This

was most evident for species utilizing fishponds, a habitat which may be

similar to estuaries for enhancing juvenile fish production. The decline

of the numbers and function of fishponds in Hawaii has been dramatic.

Cobb (1902) documented the use of fishponds in his survey of fisheries

of Hawaii and even then noted a marked decline in the numbers of

functioning fishponds. While the reasons may differ, declining nearshore

catches in American Samoa over the last two decades (Craig et al., 1993)

are also a concern.

Significant growth in several fishery sectors of Hawaii has been

based upon improved technology and an expanded potential geographic

range of fishing. The combination of increased catch and targeted

high-value markets led to a doubling of the ex-vessel value of Hawaii

fisheries from 1970 to 1990 (Pooley, 1993a). Insular fisheries moved to

increasingly deeper water, and technology allowed the expansion of the

slope fishery in the main Hawaiian islands during the middle of this

century. As these fisheries approached full exploitation, the resource

potential of the NWHI was examined by the National Marine Fisheries

Service, the State of Hawaii, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in

the tripartite Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Investigation in the mid

1970′s to early 1980′s. This program increased knowledge of

resource potential (Uchida and Uchiyama, 1986) and ultimately led to a

geographic expansion of the lobster and bottomfish fisheries to the NWHI

(Polovina, 1993; Haight et al., 1993), providing a marked expansion of

exploitable biomass. Within the NWHI lobster fishery, changing gear from

wire to plastic traps led to significant catch of slipper lobster, which

had been essentially unexploited with wire traps. As these resources

become fully exploited, however, the available habitat for further

expansion of insular fisheries in Hawaii declined markedly.

The pelagic fisheries sector has seen the most dramatic fluctuation

in Hawaii. Improvement of vessel technology increased the range of the

local trolling and handline fleet while other factors led to the

near-demise of the skipjack pole-and-line (“aku”) fleet; with

the closure of the only cannery on Oahu, recent aku catches are nearly

an order of magnitude below the historical peak (Boggs and Kikkawa,

1993). A general trend away from “bulk fisheries” for pelagics

(e.g. fishcake, canned tuna) and development of “quality,”

high price products (e.g. sashimi tuna, transshipped products) has

enhanced the market value of Hawaii’s pelagic fisheries (Pooley,

1993b). Even so, continuing improvements in technology have led to

substantial expansion of the longline fishery and more directed

targeting for bigeye tuna and broadbill swordfish fishery during the

late 1980′s (Boggs and Ito, 1993).

Management Issues

With the decline of traditional management approaches, increasing

population, and development of new fisheries, declines in nearshore

stocks were inevitable (Shomura(1) Hensley and Sherwood, 1993). As

offshore fisheries grew, allocation conflicts have developed (Boggs and

Ito, 1993). With the passage of the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and

Management Act of 1976 (MFCMA) and establishment of the regional fishery

management councils, federal jurisdiction was established and in some

cases established regulations that superseded state or territory

regulations. As the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council

(WPRFMC) began to develop fishery management plans (FMP’s), the

lack of adequate fisheries data became evident. Although time series of

fisheries catch information were available in the state of Hawaii,

questions existed about the quality and consistency of these data for

rigorous analysis (Smith, 1993). Data for Hawaii’s recreational

fisheries, which may represent a large portion of harvest in the

nearshore areas, are virtually unrecorded. In Guam, American Samoa, and

CNMI, however, de novo development of the WPACFIN system began

consistent time series of fisheries data (Hamm, 1993).

Management mechanisms have evolved in Hawaii to reduce fishing

effort in the commercial fisheries, including limited entry (bottomfish,

lobster), moratoria on new entrants to the fishery (longlining), closed

seasons and quota (lobster), and area closures (longlining). Nearshore

areas in Hawaii have received limited protection through Marine Life

Conservation Districts (MLCD’s), a progressive approach taken by

the Division of Aquatic Resources (Smith, 1993). Such closed areas for

fishery management purposes represent an alternative that is consistent

with interest in marine refuges and sanctuaries, and a theoretical basis

for such management is developing (DeMartini, 1993). Closed areas have

also been used for special purposes, such as creating areas for

nonconsumptive use of marine resources (a function served by many Hawaii

MLCD’s) or for protection of sensitive areas. An example of the

latter is protection of the Hawaiian monk seal in the NWHI (Nitta and

Henderson, 1993). Lobster fishing is prohibited inside 10 fm in the NWHI

owing to designation of critical habitat for the monk seal, and

longlining is prohibited within 50 n.mi. of the NWHI owing to fishery

interactions.

Interactions among different scales of fisheries and the differing

agencies responsible for their management present a challenge in many

areas. In the nearshore, non-selective gears like gillnets and lack of

data on their catch make specific management measures difficult and

contribute to stock declines. Moving offshore, many stocks, such as

bottomfish, fall within the jurisdiction of both state (or territory)

and federal management prerogatives; this problem is presently being

faced with bottomfish management in the main Hawaiian Islands. For

pelagics, even though all species are now under the MFCMA, fluctuations

in catch rates of many species mimic many of the changes in Pacific-wide

stocks, suggesting that local fluctuations are in concert with the wider

Pacific stocks, and that local effects often change with environmental

variation. Unfortunately, the wider ranging stocks lack the scientific

basis and institutional structures needed for management (see Doulman,

1987).

Environmental Issues

Improved awareness of environmental issues in the marine

environment is evident in the general public, and Hawaii and the Pacific

islands are no exception. Land-based development associated with

increasing population in island ecosystems is a serious concern owing to

degradation of nearshore habitats (Boehlert et al.(2); Baines and

Morrison, 1990). Examples of problems include point and nonpoint source

pollution, coastal landfills, diversion of freshwater from former

estuarine areas or fishponds, dredging and siltation impacts on corals,

and algal blooms. While such problems may not be evident in all these

island areas, their relationship to human population pressure is well

documented.

Fishing can itself impact the environment; destructive fishing

practices (bleach, dynamite, or nonselective gears) have a long history

in island areas, but public awareness has led to regulations banning or

controlling them. Set gillnet fishing is increasingly viewed as a

nonselective method with relatively high by catch of unintended species,

similar to driftnet fisheries. In Hawaii, however, bills to regulate set

gillnets have routinely been killed politically, although a recent

(1992) resolution calling for studies to improve regulations was passed.

Impacts of fishing on protected species is also a point of

environmental concern. Examples in local fisheries include gillnet

impacts on turtle, and longline takes of turtles, monk seal, and

seabirds (Nitta and Henderson, 1993).

Fishing may also have impacts on biological diversity. Fishing only

selected species in the high diversity ecosystems characterizing these

areas may lead to species replacement, and the new dominant species may

be smaller and less useful for human consumption (Jones, 1982). While

concrete documentation of such species replacement is not evident in

Hawaii and the U.S. insular Pacific fisheries, experimental fishing on

patch reefs at Midway did change community structure and the abundance

of certain prey species (Schroeder, 1989). A more dramatic example is

provided by the trawl fishery in the Gulf of Thailand, where the

dominant fish and large invertebrate species decreased to less than

one-fifth of their original abundance (as reflected in catch rate), and

the squid Loligo spp. became the clear dominant, with perhaps a ten-fold

increase in abundance (Longhurst and Pauly, 1987). Multispecies

management models for tropical fisheries are not sufficiently well

developed to predict these kind of changes (Sainsbury, 1982).

Concluding Remarks

The papers in this volume document the development of this

region’s fisheries and indicate the scope of research that has been

conducted by many agencies; still, it is clear that much remains to be

learned. This is also true for the fisheries management and

environmental protection issues as for the basic biological and

environmental research required to understand the physical processes at

work in these diverse island habitats. For successful fisheries

management, however, it is critical to appreciate the human diversity of

these island areas; this requires a deeper understanding of the social

processes which affect the ability of government to work with the

community on common solutions to fishery management problems. I hope

that this volume contributes the basic background information which can

place the search for such solutions on a firmer scientific footing. (1)

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Admin. Rep. H-87-21, 25 p. (2) G. W. Boehlert, P. L. Jokiel, and D. J.

Mackett. 1985. Issues in fisheries habitat conservation and research for

the Hawaiian archipelago and Central Pacific. Honolulu Lab., Southwest

Fish. Cent., Natl. Mar. Fish. Serv., NOAA, Honolulu, HI 96822-2396.

Southwest Fish. Cent. Admin. Rep. H-85-10, 39 p.

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George Boehlert is with the Honolulu Laboratory, Southwest

Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA, 2570

Dole St., Honolulu, HI 96822-2396, and the Joint Institute for Marine

and Atmospheric Research, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI 96822.

Mention of trade names or commercial firms does not imply endorsement by

the National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA.

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