The Hawaii-based Longline Logbook Summary Report
January-March 2008
This report summarizes data on fish catch and fishing effort of Hawaii-based longline vessels during the first quarter of 2008 (Q1-2008), based on the date gear was hauled, as reported to the National Marine Fisheries Service in Federal logbooks of daily fishing activity submitted by vessel operators. The report covers longline operations for fishing trips completed in the first quarter of 2008 and most, but not all, Q1-2008 data from trips that began late in the first quarter and continued into the second quarter of 2008. Therefore, the Q1-2008 summary statistics reported here are preliminary. When data for all first quarter longline operations are available, tables and graphs of summary statistics included in these Web pages will be updated.
During Q1-2008, 127 vessels were active in the Hawaii-based fleet, 6 more than in the Q1-2007 (Table 1, Fig. 1). They made 439 longline trips (14 more than in Q1-2007), including 394 using deep-set gear to target tuna (27 more than in Q1-2007) and 45 using shallow-set gear to target swordfish (13 less than in Q1 2007; Fig. 2). A record 10.2 million hooks were deployed in Q1-2008, 1.3 million more than in Q1-2007 (Fig. 3). The fleet fished mainly outside the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) (48% of the total hooks set), followed by the EEZ of the Main Hawaiian Islands (MHI) (32%) and waters within the EEZ of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI) (9%). Seven percent of the hooks were deployed in the EEZ of the U.S. Pacific Remote Island Areas (PRIA, consisting of the U.S. possessions Wake Island, Jarvis Island, Howland Island, Baker Island, Kingman Reef, Palmyra Atoll, and Johnston Atoll).
In Q1-2008, the Hawaii longline fleet caught a record 45,239 bigeye tuna (Fig. 4); 51% were caught outside the U.S. EEZ, 31% in the MHI EEZ, 9% in the NWHI EEZ, and 8% in the PRIA EEZ. The bigeye tuna catch-per-unit-of-effort (CPUE) on tuna-targeted trips was 4.7 fish per 1000 hooks; exceeding the Q1-2007 CPUE of 3.9 (Fig. 5). The albacore catch and CPUE on tuna-targeted trips in Q1-2008 were 7,623 fish and 0.65 fish per 1000 hooks, respectively (Figs. 6-7). The yellowfin tuna catch (19,039 fish) in Q1-2008 established a first quarter record and the yellowfin CPUE on tuna-targeted trips (2.0 fish per 1000 hooks) was higher than average for the quarter (Figs. 8-9).
The Q1-2008 swordfish catch was 11,022 fish, 20% lower than in Q1-2007 (Fig. 10). The smaller swordfish catch is attributed mostly to fewer shallow sets made this year. In Q1-2008, swordfish CPUE on shallow-set swordfish-targeted trips was 15.2 fish per 1000 hooks, 0.8 lower than in Q1-2007 (Fig. 11).
The Q1-2008 striped marlin catch (2,301 fish) and CPUE on tuna-targeted trips (0.23 fish per 1000 hooks) were lower than in Q1-2007 by 30% and 43%, respectively (Figs. 12-13). Conversely, the Q1-2008 blue marlin catch (810 fish) and CPUE on tuna-targeted trips (0.08 fish per 1000 hooks) were higher than in Q1-2007 by 45% and 14% (Figs. 14-15).
The fleet caught 18,809 sharks in Q1-2008, of which 572 (3%) were kept. Blue shark comprised 82% of the total shark catch ( 15,467 fish) (Fig. 16). Blue shark CPUE on shallow-set swordfish-targeted trips was 10.1 fish per 1000 hooks (Fig. 17).
In Q1-2008, the Hawaii longline catch of other key pelagic species included 25,931 mahimahi (Fig. 18) with a CPUE of 2.6 fish per 1000 hooks on tuna-targeted trips (Fig. 19); 1,726 moonfish (Fig. 20) with a CPUE of 0.18 fish per 1000 hooks on tuna-targeted trips (Fig. 21); 10,993 pomfret (Fig. 22) with a CPUE of 1.2 fish per 1000 hooks on tuna-targeted trips (Fig. 23); and 3,246 wahoo (Fig. 24) with a CPUE of 0.34 fish per 1000 hooks on tuna-targeted trips (Fig. 25). A high percentage of the catch of these species was kept.
The summary statistics in Table 1 are based on logbook records from all fishing areas combined and all types of longline trips—those targeting swordfish and those aimed at catching tuna. Hence, the CPUE figures in Table 1 differ from those reported above, which were calculated using data exclusively from tuna-targeted trips or swordfish-targeted trips, depending on the species of interest.
In addition to longline statistics for all fishing areas combined, Q1-2008 summary catch and effort were compiled by several geographical sub-areas including: the MHI EEZ; the NWHI EEZ; the PRIA EEZ; the combined EEZ of MHI, NWHI and PRIA; and waters outside the U.S. EEZ. These statistics are presented in Tables 2-6. Q1-2008 summary statistics for the entire fishing area are also presented for each distinct trip type: shallow-set swordfish-targeted trips (Table 7) and deep-set tuna-targeted trips (Table 8).
In addition to the summary longline fishery statistics for Q1-2008, graphs of annual Hawaii longline fishing effort and catch by species for the years 1991-2007 are presented in Figs. A1-A7.
In addition to tables and graphs referenced in the narrative above, this Web site has an archive of quarterly and annual summary tables of fish catch and fishing effort from 1991 to the present. The statistics in these online graphs and archived tables are updated periodically as new records are added to the database and corrections are made.