Pelagic Fishery
Introduction
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| Trolling Gear on a Boat (Click on picture for a larger picture) |
Pelagic fishing vessels based on Guam fall into two broad categories: 1) Distant -water purse seiners and foreign longliners that fish primarily outside Guam's EEZ and transship through Guam. This fishery is monitored by the Bureau of Statistics and Plans and is covered in the Guam BSP section of this web site
2) Small primarily recreational trolling boats that are either towed to boat launch sites or berthed in marinas and fish only local waters, either within Guam's EEZ or occasionally in the adjacent EEZ of the Northern Mariana Islands. This page covers this part of the pelagic fishery.
Boats and Trips
The number of boats participating in Guam's pelagic fishery steadily increased from 109 in 1981 to 469 in 1998 and has decreased thereafter. Most fishing boats are less than 10 meters (33 feet) in length and are typically owner-operated by persons who earn a living outside of fishing.
Most fishermen sell a portion of their catch at one time or another. By comparing the Boat Based Total landings data from the Offshore Creel Survey with the Estimated Commercial Landings data from the Commercial Purchase system one can see that only 62% of the 2002 pelagic catch and only 51% of the 2001 pelagic catch was sold commercially.
A small, but significant, segment of the pelagic fleet consists of marina-berthed charter vessels that are operated primarily by full-time captains and crews.
The average troll trips decreased compared with 2000 while trolling hours and trolling effort in terms of total hours fished per total trolling trips increased compared with 2000.
Charter boat activity decreased for the fifth year in a row, due to a drop in tourism as a result of the Asian economic crisis. Charter fishing trips made as many as 2-4 trips a day during 1996, but dropped during the last quarter of 1997. Charter trolling trips decreased further by 10% in 1999, 7% in 2000, and 20% in 2001.
In 1997, charter boats made up less than 10% of the pelagic fleet but accounted for 34% of trolling trips, 22% of the pelagic catch, and 24% of trolling hours, making them a significant part of the pelagic fleet.
In 2001 Charter boats still make up less than 10% of the pelagic fleet but account for only 20% of all trolling trips, 10% of the pelagic catch, and 13% of hours spent trolling. Even so charter boats caught 14% of the mahimahi landings, 33% of the blue marlin landings, 6% of the skipjack landings, 6% of the yellowfin landings, and 10% of the wahoo landings.
Total Landings
Estimated pelagic annual total landings have varied widely, ranging between 319,000 and 914,000 pounds. Total pelagic landings in 2001 was approximately 752,000 pounds, an increase of 23% compared with 2000.
Landings in 2001 consist almost entirely of five major species: mahimahi (Coryphaena hippurus), wahoo (Acanthocybium solandri), skipjack tuna (Katsuwonus pelamis), yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares), and Pacific blue marlin (Makaira mazara).
Minor components include rainbow runner (Elagatis bipinnulatus), great barracuda (Sphyraena barracuda), kawakawa (Euthynnus affinis), sailfish (Istiophorus platypterus), dogtooth tuna (Gymnosarda unicolor), and sharks. Approximately a dozen additional species are landed incidentally each year.
Aggregate total landings of all pelagics, tuna and non-tuna PPMUS fluctuate greatly about almost contant averages. In the early 1980s the bulk of the catch consisted of tunas, but since 1985, it has consisted of non-tuna or "other" PPMUS, with mahimahi usually the most important species. The commercial landings of all pelagics also show a similar trend.
There are wide year to year fluctuations in the tuna, marlin, and wahoo total landings. Yellowfin tuna landings increased from 1983 to 1985, declined from 1985 to 1987, increased from 1987 to 1998, then decreased after 1999.
Skipjack tuna landings declined until 1987, show a general increase until 1996, generally declines until 1999, then reached a record high of approximately 333,000 pounds in 2001.
Blue marlin landings show a general increase from 1982 to 1990, decrease from 1990 to 1993, increased from 1993 to 1997, then fluctuates.
Wahoo landings have fluctuated about a contstant value over the past 18 years.
Trolling catch rates vary widely for all pelagic species. In 1997 an increase was observed with blue marlin and skipjack tuna, while trolling rates for mahimahi and wahoo decreased, and the trolling rate for yellowfin remained the same. CPUE for non-charter trolling boats was slightly higher than for charter boats, 12.7 lbs/hr. versus 11.6 lbs/hr.
The 2000 trolling catch rate decreased for yellowfin and blue marlin while increasing for mahimahi, wahoo, and and skipjack tuna. CPUE for non-charter boats increased 14% while charters decreased 2% from 2000.
Inflation-adjusted prices in 1997 increased compared with 1996, especially with non-tuna PPMUS. There is still a difficulty in obtaining a consistent supply of fresh fish from local fishermen, although fish vendors, primarily the Fisherman's Coop, have provided fishermen with a consistent market for their fish, increasing commercial landings. Inexpensive foreign-caught fish marketed locally without being "value-added" is still a concern among local fishermen. In 1996, Commerice estimated that 5% of "rejected" fish from longliners enters the local economy.
Commercial landings and commercial revenues of all pelagics and non-tuna PPMUS increased in 2001 while tuna decreased in 2001. Inflation-adjusted revenues per trolling trip show a general decline, although in 2001 there is a decrease in inflation-adjusted revenues. Since the vast majority of boaters in the pelagic fishery do not rely on catching or selling fish for a living, effort continues to occur despite decreasing revenues. The average price of tuna and non-tuna PPMUS also show a general decline, although the price of non-tuna PPMUS has increased since 1995.
Bycatch
Actual bycatch was approximately 528 pounds or 1% of the actual pelagic catch (36,772 pounds).
The species caught as bycatch were the silky shark, a jack, wahoo, yellowfin tuna, mahimahi, blue marlin, and shortbill spearfish. The percent bycatch of these species were 100% (silky shark), 100% (jack), .5% (wahoo), 5% (yellowfin tuna), .5% (mahimahi), 20% (blue marlin), and 100% (shortbill spearfish), respectively.
Bycatch for non-charters is 57% (303 pounds) of the actual bycatch while the bycatch for charters is 43% (226 pounds). Bycatch species for non-charters consist of the silky shark, a jack, wahoo, and yellowfin tuna while the bycatch species for charters consist of mahimahi, blue marlin, and shortbill spearfish.
Approximately, 50% of the bycatch species that non-charters caught were released alive while 100% were released alive by charters.