HAWAII LONGLINE OBSERVER PROGRAM
ANNUAL STATUS REPORT
January 1, 2002 - December 31, 2002
Pacific Islands Area Office
Southwest Region
National Marine Fisheries Service
January 30, 2003
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. This report is used to ensure prompt dissemination of Hawaii Longline Observer Data and may be revised. 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 - 2002 (January 1, 2002 - December 31, 2002) Departures ------------------------------------------------------------ 1129 Departures with Observers --------------------------------------------- 278 Observer coverage 2002 ------------------------------------------------24.6% Vessels Arriving with Observers - 2002 Departures with observers in 2002 ------------------------------------- 278 Observers departing in 2001 arriving in 2002 -------------------------- 9 Observers departing in 2002 arriving in 2003 -------------------------- 3 Total vessels arriving with observers - 2002 -------------------------- 284 Protected Species Interactions - 2002 Vessels arriving with observers in 2002 ------------------------------- 284 Trips with turtle interactions ---------------------------------------- 13 Trips without turtle interactions ------------------------------------- 271 Trips with marine mammal interactions --------------------------------- 9 Trips without marine mammal interactions ------------------------------ 275 Trips with seabird interactions --------------------------------------- 18 Trips without seabird interactions ------------------------------------ 266 Total Sea Turtle Interactions ------------------------- 14 Released Injured Loggerhead ------------------------------------------ 2 Leatherback ----------------------------------------- 2 Released Alive Loggerhead ------------------------------------------ 1 Released Dead Olive Ridley ---------------------------------------- 7 Green ----------------------------------------------- 1 Loggerhead ------------------------------------------ 1 Total Marine Mammal Interactions ---------------------- 9 Released injured Unidentified Cetacean ------------------------------- 2 False Killer Whale ---------------------------------- 5 Humpback Whale -------------------------------------- 1 Released dead Blainville's Beaked Whale --------------------------- 1 Total Seabird Interactions ---------------------------- 34 Released injured Laysan Albatross ------------------------------------ 3 Black-footed Albatross ------------------------------ 1 Released Dead Laysan Albatross ------------------------------------ 13 Black-footed Albatross ------------------------------ 17 Total Sets 3523 Total Hooks Retrieved 6,786,303 Turtles per 1,000 Hooks 0.002
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. |