FishWatch

Harvesting Atlantic Mahimahi

Commercial fishermen harvest mahimahi with hook-and-line gear, including handlines and longlines. Some longline fisheries targeting swordfish and tuna incidentally catch and harvest mahimahi, too.

Hook-and-line gear has minimal impact on habitat because it doesn’t contact the ocean floor, but longlines can incidentally catch sea turtles, marine mammals, and other species. Longline fishermen follow numerous measures to prevent bycatch and protect other species. For example, longline fishermen must use specific gear and safe handling techniques to reduce impacts on sea turtles and are prohibited from fishing in certain areas to protect species such as billfish.

Management

Who’s in charge? NOAA Fisheries and the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (in cooperation with the Mid-Atlantic and New England Fishery Management Councils). (The Pacific and Western Pacific Fishery Management Councils are responsible for U.S. fisheries for mahimahi in the Pacific.)

Current management:

Atlantic: Dolphin Wahoo Fishery of the Atlantic Fishery Management Plan

• Fishermen and dealers must have the appropriate permits to harvest and sell mahimahi.
• 20-inch fork length minimum size limit for mahimahi off the coasts of Georgia and Florida to protect smaller fish. Managers have proposed the same size limit for mahimahi off the coast of South Carolina; this measure should be implemented in 2012.s

Gulf of Mexico: Mahimahi was formerly included in the Fishery Management Plan for Coastal Migratory Pelagic Resources of the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic for data collection purposes, but no management actions have ever been needed for this species. Managers recently removed mahimahi from this management plan, but they can still collect catch data on this species. If harvests or interest in fishing for mahimahi changes in the future and managers determine regulations are necessary, they can add the species back to the management plan.

Annual Harvest

The majority (about two-thirds) of the U.S. harvest of mahimahi comes from the Pacific, mainly Hawaii. In 2010, total U.S. harvest of mahimahi was over 2.25 million pounds. Over 725,000 pounds were harvested commercially in the Atlantic and Gulf. The majority of this came from Florida and North Carolina.

Economy

Ecuador, Peru, and Taiwan are the leading suppliers of mahimahi to the U.S. market.

Recreational

Recreational fishermen love to fish for mahimahi. In fact, the fishery for mahimahi in the Atlantic and Gulf has historically been recreational. Recreational fishermen can only keep mahimahi larger than 20 inches when fishing off Georgia and Florida. Managers have proposed the same size limit for mahimahi off the coast of South Carolina; this measure should be implemented in 2012. Recreational fishermen can keep up to 10 mahimahi per day, with a limit of 60 per boat per day (headboats are excluded from the boat limit). Regulations prohibit the sale of recreational catch (except for-hire vessels with necessary state and federal commercial permits to sell the recreational bag limit).