Cooperation of Local Fish Auction Supports Research to Improve Management of the Main Hawaiian Islands Bottomfish Fishery
Improved biological information is vital to ensuring sound scientific advice for management of bottomfish stocks in the main Hawaiian Islands. To collect biological data, PIFSC scientists have conducted regular sampling of the Hawaii bottomfish catch landed at the United Fishing Agency (UFA) fish auction in Honolulu. With the cooperation of UFA manager Brooks Takenaka and his staff, PIFSC scientists collect species-specific length and weight information on bottomfish. Sampling effort is directed mostly toward the "Deep 7" bottomfish species that are the primary focus of fishery management. However, when bottomfish are not available, samplers shift their attention to selected pelagic species.
Samplers collect data by filling out a recording form. During the early years of the bottomfish sampling project, PIFSC samplers recorded information written on the paper barcode tags applied to each fish or "lot" of fish by UFA staff, including species name, weight of fish as determined by UFA staff, and name of fishing vessel landing the fish. Samplers then added information such as the fork length or total length of each fish, capture location, whether or not the fish was dressed, and sex of the fish.
In November 2010, the private company that originally developed the UFA fish barcode tracking system was contracted to manufacture a barcode-scanning "toughbook" laptop computer resistant to the effects of water and fish mucus. The computer was designed to scan information from UFA barcode tags and record the data internally into an Excel spreadsheet. The computer software was customized to provide additional data fields specifically for PIFSC biosampling needs such as the length, sex, and condition of each fish specimen. The new tool has increasing the efficiency of PIFSC data collection at the auction. The sampling program has enjoyed continued success thanks to the support of UFA staff.
