HAWAII LONGLINE OBSERVER PROGRAM
ANNUAL STATUS REPORT
January 1, 2001 - December 31, 2001
Pacific Islands Area Office
Southwest Region
National Marine Fisheries Service
January 23, 2002
The Hawaii-based pelagic longline fishery targeting swordfish and tunas has been monitored under a mandatory observer program since February 1994. Beginning March 1994, branch personnel have conducted daily shoreside dock rounds in Honolulu to determine which fishing vessels are in port. These dock rounds are used to obtain an estimate of fishing effort on a real-time basis by assuming that a vessel is fishing when it is absent from the harbor. The following table summarizes percent observer coverage for vessel departures, vessels arriving with observers, and protected species interactions for vessels arriving with observers during 2001.
Vessel Departures - 2001 (January 1, 2001 - December 31, 2001) Departures ------------------------------------------------------------ 1035 Departures with Observers --------------------------------------------- 233 Observer coverage 2001 ------------------------------------------------22.5% Vessels Arriving with Observers - 2001 Departures with observers in 2001 ------------------------------------- 233 Observers departing in 2000 arriving in 2001 -------------------------- 13 Observers departing in 2001 arriving in 2002 -------------------------- 9 Total vessels arriving with observers - 2001 -------------------------- 237 Protected Species Interactions - 2001 Vessels arriving with observers in 2001 ------------------------------- 237 Trips with turtle interactions ---------------------------------------- 13 Trips without turtle interactions ------------------------------------- 224 Trips with seabird interactions --------------------------------------- 35 Trips without seabird interactions ------------------------------------ 202 Total Sea Turtle Interactions ----------------------------- 23 Released Injured Olive Ridley -------------------------------------------- 6 Loggerhead ---------------------------------------------- 6 Leatherback --------------------------------------------- 2 Green --------------------------------------------------- 2 Unidentified Hard Shell --------------------------------- 1 Released Dead Olive Ridley -------------------------------------------- 4 Green --------------------------------------------------- 1 Released Unknown Unidentified Hard Shell --------------------------------- 1 Total Marine Mammal Interactions -------------------------- 10 Released injured Unidentified Cetacean ----------------------------------- 2 Short Finned Pilot Whale -------------------------------- 2 Rissos Dolphin ------------------------------------------ 1 False Killer Whale -------------------------------------- 3 Humpback Whale ------------------------------------------ 1 Released dead Spotted Dolphin ----------------------------------------- 1 Total Seabird Interactions -------------------------------- 161 Released injured Laysan Albatross ---------------------------------------- 13 Black-footed Albatross ---------------------------------- 6 Released Dead Laysan Albatross --------------------------------------- 63 Black-footed Albatross --------------------------------- 76 Sooty Shearwater --------------------------------------- 2 Unidentified Shearwater -------------------------------- 1 Total Sets 2827 Total Hooks Retrieved 5,142,195 Turtles per 1,000 Hooks 0.004 Note: The percent of observer coverage is based on vessel departures. Protected species interactions are based on vessel arrivals. For the purpose of this report, an animal that becomes hooked or entangled is an interaction. |