The Hawaii-based Longline Logbook Summary Report
January - March 2009
This report summarizes data on fish catch and fishing effort by Hawaii-based longline vessels during the first quarter of 2009 (Q1-2009). Results are based on the date gear was hauled, as reported by vessel operators to the National Marine Fisheries Service in Federal logbooks of daily fishing activity. The report covers longline operations for fishing trips completed in the first quarter of 2009 and most, but not all, Q1-2009 data from trips that began late in the first quarter and continued into the second quarter of 2009. Therefore, the Q1-2009 summary statistics reported here are preliminary.
During Q1-2009, 122 vessels were active in the Hawaii-based fleet, 5 less than in Q1-2008 (Table 1, Fig. 1). They made 393 longline trips (50 less than in Q1-2008), including 345 using deep-set gear to target tuna (52 less than in Q1-2008) and 48 using shallow-set gear to target swordfish (2 more than in Q1-2008; Fig. 2). During Q1-2009, the fleet deployed 9.7 million hooks, 0.5 million less than in Q1-2008 (Fig. 3). They fished mainly outside the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) (59% of the total hooks set), followed by EEZ waters of the main Hawaiian Islands (MHI) (24%), the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI) (14%), and the U.S. Pacific Remote Island Areas (PRIA, consisting of U.S. possessions Wake Island, Jarvis Island, Howland Island, Baker Island, Kingman Reef, Palmyra Atoll, and Johnston Atoll) (3%) .
In Q1-2009, the Hawaii longline fleet caught 25,089 bigeye tuna, 45% fewer than in Q1-2008 (Fig. 4). Most of the bigeye (58%) were caught outside the U.S. EEZ, with 22% caught in the MHI EEZ, 16% in the NWHI EEZ, and 4% in the PRIA EEZ. The bigeye tuna catch-per-unit-of-effort (CPUE) on tuna-targeted trips was a first quarter record low 2.7 fish per 1000 hooks, far below the CPUE of 4.7 in Q1-2008 (Fig. 5). The albacore catch and CPUE on tuna-targeted trips in Q1-2009 were 5,321 fish and 0.43 fish per 1000 hooks, respectively (Figs. 6-7). The yellowfin tuna catch and CPUE on tuna-targeted trips in Q1-2009 were 3,809 fish and 0.40 fish per 1000 hooks, respectively (Figs. 8-9).
The Q1-2009 swordfish catch was 8,176 fish, 28% lower than in Q1-2008 (Fig. 10). Swordfish CPUE on shallow-set swordfish-targeted trips was 11.2 fish per 1000 hooks, a record low for the first quarter and 4.0 fish per 1000 hooks below Q1-2008 (Fig. 11).
The Q1-2009 striped marlin catch (2,734 fish) and CPUE on tuna-targeted trips (0.29 fish per 1000 hooks) were both slightly higher compared to Q1-2008 (Figs. 12-13). Conversely, the Q1-2009 blue marlin catch (681 fish) and CPUE on tuna-targeted trips (0.07 fish per 1000 hooks) were slightly lower than in Q1-2008 (Figs. 14-15).
The fleet caught 15,002 sharks in Q1-2009, of which 654 (4%) were kept. Blue shark comprised 80% of the total shark catch (11,916 fish) (Fig. 16). Blue shark CPUE on shallow-set swordfish-targeted trips was 6.3 fish per 1000 hooks (Fig. 17), a record low for the first quarter.
In Q1-2009, the Hawaii longline catch of other key pelagic species included 7,730 mahimahi (Fig. 18) with a CPUE of 0.80 fish per 1000 hooks on tuna-targeted trips (Fig. 19); a first quarter record high 4,147 moonfish (Fig. 20) with a CPUE of 0.45 fish per 1000 hooks on tuna-targeted trips (Fig. 21); 10,253 pomfret (Fig. 22) with a CPUE of 1.13 fish per 1000 hooks on tuna-targeted trips (Fig. 23); and 1,472 wahoo (Fig. 24) with a CPUE of 0.16 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.
The longline logbook statistics reported above refer to all fishing areas combined. Q1-2009 summary catch and effort were also 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. Q1-2009 summary statistics for the entire fishing area are also presented for each distinct trip type: swordfish-targeted trips using shallow-set gear (Table 7) and tuna-targeted trips deploying deep-set gear (Table 8).
This Web site also provides a PDF version of the report [download report], a separate collection of quarterly and yearly charts, and an archive of quarterly and annual summary tables of fish catch and fishing effort from 1991 to the present. The statistics in the online graphs and archived tables are updated periodically as new records are added to the database and corrections are made.
