The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council discussed a Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center report on the performance of the 140 Hawaii longline vessels during the first half of 2022. Compared to 2021, the fishery had a relatively low bigeye tuna catch (89,000 fish, down 14,000) and catch per unit effort. Even though the catch was low, the fish price was high, so fishermen were able to recoup their operating costs.

Yellowfin tuna catches have trended upward since 2015, increasing 5,000 fishes from 2021 to 42,000, and swordfish catch is up about 1,000 to 9,000.

The nine vessels of the American Samoa longline fleet had an increased albacore tuna catch rate from January to June 2022 compared to the same period last year — 13.26 vs. about nine fish per 1,000 hooks. Approximately 12 fish caught per 1,000 hooks is considered a “break-even” point for fishermen in terms of the costs and benefits of each fishing trip. American Samoa longline fishery catch rates have declined by at least 50 percent since 2002, so such a significant increase in fishery performance is encouraging. Council members discussed the importance of maintaining tuna supply to the StarKist cannery in Pago Pago, American Samoa, which relies heavily on tuna brought in from U.S.-flagged purse seiners. Approximately 100,000 metric tons of tuna are offloaded in Pago Pago each year, of which the majority are provided by U.S.-flagged purse seine vessels.

The council requested that the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) proceed with a 2015 proposed rulemaking to recognize a distinct American Samoa purse seine fleet comprised of some U.S.-flagged vessels. This rulemaking could potentially recognize an American Samoa fishery that would be entitled to privileges within the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) granted to small island developing states (SIDS) and participating territories. These privileges include exemptions to seasonal fish aggregating device closures and limits to high seas fishing access. This would incentivize U.S.-flagged American Samoa vessels to fish in WCPFC waters and offload in American Samoa, but NMFS has yet to proceed with this.

The council’s Scientific and Statistical Committee reviewed new data from a recent PIFSC study supporting the benefit to Endangered Species Act-listed oceanic whitetip sharks from the Hawaii deep-set longline fishery’s transition from wire leaders to monofilament nylon leaders earlier this year.

Sharks can bite through nylon leaders easier than wire and have a higher chance of freeing themselves. The same study highlighted the downside of this strategy. The slower degradation rate of monofilament line in the ocean means that trailing line left on the shark may have greater consequences than wire leaders that were shown to start breaking off after two months.

Hawaii’s longline fishermen are also required to cut the line as close to the hook as possible when releasing oceanic whitetip sharks. This comes with crew safety issues due to flyback caused by the required use of weights close to the hook to reduce interactions with Laysan and black-footed albatrosses.