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Sustainable Fisheries Division
Updated February 8, 2013
Annual Catch Limits
- Annual Catch Limits FAQs
- Annual Catch Limits Tutorial
- Federal Register Notice:
Annual catch limits (ACLs) are tools to prevent overfishing in commercial and recreational fisheries. The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) administers limits for the following Pacific Island fisheries:
Pelagic
Hawaii
American Samoa
Guam
Northern Mariana Islands
Pacific Remote Island Areas
| Pelagic (view map) | |||||
Fishery |
Species  |
Annual Limit |
Estimated Catch |
% of Limit Caught |
Status |
| Bigeye Tuna | No limit at this time |
Not applicable |
Not applicable |
Open |
|
| Bigeye Tuna | 500 mt (vessels > than 24m) |
To be announced |
To be announced |
Open |
|
Note: NMFS has not specified ACLs for most pelagic species because they are subject to international fishing agreements or have life cycles of less than a year.
| Hawaii (view map) | |||||
Fishery |
Species |
Annual Limit (lb) |
Estimated Catch (lb) |
% of Limit Caught |
Status |
Bottomfish |
Main Hawaiian Islands Deep 7 Bottomfish (Lehi, Ehu, Onaga, Opakapaka, Kalekale, Gindai, Hapu'upu'u) | 325,000 |
139,620 |
43% |
Open |
| Non-Deep 7 Bottomfish | 135,000 |
— |
— |
Open |
|
Crustacean |
Deepwater Shrimp | 250,773 |
— |
— |
Open |
| Kona Crab | 27,600 |
— |
— |
Open |
|
| Spiny Lobster | 10,000 |
— |
— |
Open |
|
| Slipper Lobster | 280 |
— |
— |
Open |
|
Precious Coral |
Black Coral - Auau Channel | 5,512 |
— |
— |
Open |
| Precious Corals in the Hawaii Exploratory Area | 2,205 |
— |
— |
Open |
|
| Pink Coral - Makapuu Bed | 2,205 |
— |
— |
Open |
|
| Pink Coral - Brooks Bank | 979 |
— |
— |
Open |
|
| Pink Coral - 180 Fathom Bank | 489 |
— |
— |
Open |
|
| Pink Coral - Kaena Point Bed | 148 |
— |
— |
Open |
|
| Pink Coral - Keahole Bed | 148 |
— |
— |
Open |
|
| Bamboo Coral - Makapuu Bed | 551 |
— |
— |
Open |
|
| Bamboo Coral - Brooks Bank | 245 |
— |
— |
Open |
|
| Bamboo Coral - 180 Fathom Bank | 123 |
— |
— |
Open |
|
| Bamboo Coral - Kaena Point Bed | 37 |
— |
— |
Open |
|
| Bamboo Coral - Keahole Bed | 37 |
— |
— |
Open |
|
Coral Reef Ecosystem |
Selar crumenophthalmus (akule, bigeye scad) | 651,292 |
— |
— |
Open |
| Decapterus macarellus (opelu, mackerel scad) | 393,563 |
— |
— |
Open |
|
| Carangidae (jacks) | 193,423 |
— |
— |
Open |
|
| Mullidae (goatfish) | 125,813 |
— |
— |
Open |
|
| Carcharhinidae (reef sharks) | 111,566 |
— |
— |
Open |
|
| Acanthuridae (surgeonfish) | 80,545 |
— |
— |
Open |
|
| Lutjanidae (snappers) | 65,102 |
— |
— |
Open |
|
| Holocentridae (squirrelfish) | 44,122 |
— |
— |
Open |
|
| Mugilidae (mullets) | 41,112 |
— |
— |
Open |
|
| Scaridae (parrotfish) | 33,326 |
— |
— |
Open |
|
| Mollusks (turbo snails, octopus, giant clams) | 28,765 |
— |
— |
Open |
|
| Crustaceans (crabs) | 20,686 |
— |
— |
Open |
|
| All other coral reef ecosystem species combined | 142,282 |
— |
— |
Open |
|
Note: NMFS has not specified ACLs for stocks subject to federal fishing moratoria or prohibitions. These include all species of gold coral, all species of deepwater precious coral at Wespac Bed in the NWHI, and the three Hawaii seamount groundfish: pelagic armorhead, alfonsin and raft fish. The current prohibition on fishing for these species serves as a functional equivalent of an ACL of zero.
| American Samoa (view map) | |||||
Fishery |
Species |
Annual Limit (lb) |
Estimated Catch (lb) |
% of Limit Caught |
Status |
Bottomfish |
Bottomfish multi-species stock complex | 99,200 |
— |
— |
Open |
Crustacean |
Deepwater Shrimp | 80,000 |
— |
— |
Open |
| Kona Crab | 3,200 |
— |
— |
Open |
|
| Spiny Lobster | 2,300 |
— |
— |
Open |
|
| Slipper Lobster | 30 |
— |
— |
Open |
|
Precious Coral |
Precious Corals in the American Samoa Exploratory Area | 2,205 |
— |
— |
Open |
| Black Coral | 1,742 |
— |
— |
Open |
|
Coral Reef Ecosystem |
Acanthuridae (surgeonfish) | 19,516 |
— |
— |
Open |
| Lutjanidae (snappers) | 18,839 |
— |
— |
Open |
|
| Mollusks (turbo snails, octopus, giant clams) | 16,694 |
— |
— |
Open |
|
| Carangidae (jacks) | 9,490 |
— |
— |
Open |
|
| Selar crumenophthalmus (atule, bigeye scad) | 8,396 |
— |
— |
Open |
|
| Scaridae (parrotfish) | 8,145 |
— |
— |
Open |
|
| Lethrinidae (emperors) | 7,350 |
— |
— |
Open |
|
| Serranidae (groupers) | 5,600 |
— |
— |
Open |
|
| Mugilidae (mullets) | 2,857 |
— |
— |
Open |
|
| Holocentridae (squirrelfish) | 2,585 |
— |
— |
Open |
|
| Crustaceans (crabs) | 2,248 |
— |
— |
Open |
|
| Cheilinus undulatus (Humphead "Napoleon" wrasse) | 1,743 |
— |
— |
Open |
|
| Carcharhinidae (reef sharks) | 1,309 |
— |
— |
Open |
|
| Bolbometopon muricatum (bumphead parrotfish) | 235 |
— |
— |
Open |
|
| All other coral reef ecosystem species combined | 18,910 |
— |
— |
Open |
|
Note: NMFS has not specified ACLs for stocks subject to federal fishing moratoria or prohibitions, including gold corals. The current prohibition on fishing serves as a functional equivalent of an ACL of zero.
| Guam (view map) | |||||
Fishery |
Species |
Annual Limit (lb) |
Estimated Catch (lb) |
% of Limit Caught |
Status |
Bottomfish |
Bottomfish multi-species stock complex | 48,200 |
— |
— |
Open |
Crustacean |
Deepwater Shrimp | 48,488 |
— |
— |
Open |
| Spiny Lobster | 2,700 |
— |
— |
Open |
|
| Kona Crab | 1,900 |
— |
— |
Open |
|
| Slipper Lobster | 20 |
— |
— |
Open |
|
Precious Coral |
Precious Corals in the Guam Exploratory Area | 2,205 |
— |
— |
Open |
| Black Coral | 1,543 |
— |
— |
Open |
|
Coral Reef Ecosystem |
Acanthuridae (surgeonfish) | 70,702 |
— |
— |
Open |
| Selar crumenophthalmus (atulai, bigeye scad) | 56,514 |
— |
— |
Open |
|
| Carangidae (jacks) | 45,377 |
— |
— |
Open |
|
| Lethrinidae (emperors) | 38,720 |
— |
— |
Open |
|
| Scaridae (parrotfish) | 28,649 |
— |
— |
Open |
|
| Siganidae (rabbitfish) | 26,120 |
— |
— |
Open |
|
| Mullidae (goatfish) | 25,367 |
— |
— |
Open |
|
| Mollusks (turbo snails, octopus, giant clams) | 21,941 |
— |
— |
Open |
|
| Serranidae (groupers) | 17,958 |
— |
— |
Open |
|
| Lutjanidae (snappers) | 17,726 |
— |
— |
Open |
|
| Mugilidae (mullets) | 15,032 |
— |
— |
Open |
|
| Kyphosidae (chubs / rudderfish) | 13,247 |
— |
— |
Open |
|
| Holocentridae (squirrelfish) | 8,300 |
— |
— |
Open |
|
| Carcharhinidae (reef sharks) | 6,942 |
— |
— |
Open |
|
| Crustaceans (crabs) | 5,523 |
— |
— |
Open |
|
| Algae | 5,329 |
— |
— |
Open |
|
| Labridae (wrasses) | 5,195 |
— |
— |
Open |
|
| Cheilinus undulatus (Humphead "Napoleon" wrasse) | 1,960 |
— |
— |
Open |
|
| Bolbometopon muricatum (bumphead parrotfish) | 797 (CNMI and Guam combined) |
— |
— |
Open |
|
| All other coral reef ecosystem species combined | 83,214 |
— |
— |
Open |
|
Note: NMFS has not specified ACLs for stocks subject to federal fishing moratoria or prohibitions, including gold corals. The current prohibition on fishing serves as a functional equivalent of an ACL of zero.
| Northern Mariana Islands (view map) | |||||
Fishery |
Species |
Annual Limit (lb) |
Estimated Catch (lb) |
% of Limit Caught |
Status |
Bottomfish |
Bottomfish multi-species stock complex | 182,500 |
— |
— |
Open |
Crustacean |
Deepwater Shrimp | 275,570 |
— |
— |
Open |
| Spiny Lobster | 5,500 |
— |
— |
Open |
|
| Kona Crab | 6,300 |
— |
— |
Open |
|
| Slipper Lobster | 60 |
— |
— |
Open |
|
Precious Coral |
Black Coral | 4,630 |
— |
— |
Open |
| Precious Corals in the CNMI Exploratory Area | 2,205 |
— |
— |
Open |
|
Coral Reef Ecosystem |
Lethrinidae (emperors) | 27,466 |
— |
— |
Open |
| Carangidae (jacks) | 21,512 |
— |
— |
Open |
|
| Selar crumenophthalmus (atulai, bigeye scad) | 7,459 |
— |
— |
Open |
|
| Acanthuridae (surgeonfish) | 6,884 |
— |
— |
Open |
|
| Carcharhinidae (reef sharks) | 5,600 |
— |
— |
Open |
|
| Serranidae (groupers) | 5,519 |
— |
— |
Open |
|
| Mollusks (turbo snails, octopus, giant clams) | 4,446 |
— |
— |
Open |
|
| Lutjanidae (snappers) | 3,905 |
— |
— |
Open |
|
| Scaridae (parrotfish) | 3,784 |
— |
— |
Open |
|
| Mullidae (goatfish) | 3,670 |
— |
— |
Open |
|
| Mugilidae (mullets) | 3,308 |
— |
— |
Open |
|
| Siganidae (rabbitfish) | 2,537 |
— |
— |
Open |
|
| Cheilinus undulatus (Humphead "Napoleon" wrasse) | 2,009 |
— |
— |
Open |
|
| Bolbometopon muricatum (bumphead parrotfish) | 797 (CNMI and Guam combined) |
— |
— |
Open |
|
| All other coral reef ecosystem species combined | 9,820 |
— |
— |
Open |
|
Note: NMFS has not specified ACLs for stocks subject to federal fishing moratoria or prohibition, including gold corals. The current prohibition on fishing serves as a functional equivalent of an ACL of zero.
| Pacific Remote Island Areas (Maps of Pacific Remote Island Areas: Howland, Baker, and Jarvis Islands; Johnston, Wake, and Palmyra Atolls; and Kingman Reef) | |||||
Fishery |
Species |
Annual Limit (lb) |
Estimated Catch (lb) |
% of Limit Caught |
Status |
No catch limits at this time. |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
Note: NMFS has not specified ACLs for any bottomfish crustacean, precious coral, or coral reef ecosystem species in the PRIA because commercial fishing is prohibited out to 50 nautical miles by Presidential Proclamation 8336 which established the Pacific Remote Island Marine National Monument (74 FR 1565, January 12, 2009).
