2019 Hawaii Fep Safe Report
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
ANNUAL STOCK ASSESSMENT AND FISHERY EVALUATION REPORT: HAWAII ARCHIPELAGO FISHERY ECOSYSTEM PLAN 2019 Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council 1164 Bishop St., Suite 1400 Honolulu, HI 96813 PHONE: (808) 522-8220 FAX: (808) 522-8226 www.wpcouncil.org The ANNUAL STOCK ASSESSMENT AND FISHERY EVALUATION REPORT for the HAWAII ARCHIPELAGO FISHERY ECOSYSTEM 2019 was drafted by the Fishery Ecosystem Plan Team. This is a collaborative effort primarily between the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council (WPRFMC), National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS)-Pacific Island Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC), Pacific Islands Regional Office (PIRO), Division of Aquatic Resources (HI) Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources (American Samoa), Division of Aquatic and Wildlife Resources (Guam), and Division of Fish and Wildlife (CNMI). This report attempts to summarize annual fishery performance looking at trends in catch, effort and catch rates as well as provide a source document describing various projects and activities being undertaken on a local and federal level. The report also describes several ecosystem considerations including fish biomass estimates, biological indicators, protected species, habitat, climate change, and human dimensions. Information like marine spatial planning and best scientific information available for each fishery are described. This report provides a summary of annual catches relative to the Annual Catch Limits established by the Council in collaboration with the local fishery management agencies. Edited By: Thomas Remington, Contractor & Marlowe Sabater and Asuka Ishizaki, WPRFMC. This document can be cited as follows: WPRFMC, 2020. Annual Stock Assessment and Fishery Evaluation Report for the Hawaii Archipelago Fishery Ecosystem Plan 2019. Remington, T., Sabater, M., Ishizaki, A. (Eds.) Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council. Honolulu, Hawaii 96813 USA. 186 pp. + Appendices. ii The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council acknowledges the valuable contributions of the following Plan Team members and others for drafting sections of this report: Hawaii Division of Aquatic Resources: Reginald Kokubun, Paul Murakawa, Tom Ogawa, and Bryan Ishida. NMFS Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center: Ivor Williams, Felipe Carvalho, Joseph O’Malley, Michael Parke, Thomas Oliver, Melanie Abecassis, Frank Parrish, T. Todd Jones, Minling Pan, Justin Hospital, and Kirsten Leong. NMFS Pacific Islands Regional Office: Brett Schumacher. The Council also acknowledges the staff of the NMFS PIFSC Western Pacific Fisheries Information Network (WPacFIN) for providing the technical support to generate the data summaries. The Council would like to thank the following individual for their contributions to the report: Samuel Kahng. iii This page was intentionally left blank. iv Annual SAFE Report for the Hawaii Archipelago FEP Executive Summary EXECUTIVE SUMMARY As part of its five-year fishery ecosystem plan (FEP) review, the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council (WPRFMC; the Council) identified its annual reports as a priority for improvement. The former annual reports have been revised to meet National Standard regulatory requirements for Stock Assessment and Fishery Evaluation (SAFE) reports. The purpose of the reports is twofold: to monitor the performance of the fishery and ecosystem to assess the effectiveness of the FEP in meeting its management objectives; and to maintain the structure of the FEP living document. The reports are comprised of three chapters: Fishery Performance, Ecosystem Considerations, and Data Integration. The Council will iteratively improve the annual SAFE report as resources allow. The Fishery Performance chapter of this report presents descriptions of Hawaiian commercial fisheries harvesting management unit species (MUS), including Deep 7 bottomfish, non-Deep 7 bottomfish (i.e., only uku, Aprion virescens), and crustaceans, as well as ecosystem component species (ECS) replacing former MUS including all coral reef ecosystem MUS (CREMUS). An amendment to the Hawaii Archipelago FEP was passed in early 2019 classifying all non-Deep 7 bottomfish except for uku, all former CREMUS, several crustacean MUS, and all mollusk and limu species as ECS (84 FR 2767). Species classified as ecosystem components do not require annual catch limit (ACL) specifications or accountability measures but are still to be monitored regularly in the annual SAFE report through a one-year snapshot of the ten most caught ECS, complete catch time series of nine prioritized ECS as selected by the Hawaii Department of Aquatic Resources (HDAR), as well as trophic and functional group biomass estimates from fishery independent surveys. Existing management measures still apply to ECS. Data on precious coral MUS are not available due data confidentiality associated with the low number of federal permit holders. In the Fishery Performance chapter, the data collection systems for each fishery are briefly explained. The fishery statistics are organized into summary dashboard tables showcasing the values for the most recent fishing year and the percent change between short-term (10-year) and long-term (20-year) averages. Time series of fishing parameters and species catch by gear type are also provided. Additionally, the number of federal permits, status determination criteria, specified catch limits, the best scientific information available, harvest extent and capacity, and administrative and regulatory actions associated with insular fisheries in the Hawaiian Archipelago are included. For Hawaii fisheries in 2019, none of the evaluated MUS had three-year average catch that exceeded their specified ACL, allowable biological catch (ABC) values, or overfishing limits (OFL). The closest to do so was Kona crab, with a three-year average catch of 3,436 lbs. relative to its ACL of 3,500 lbs. Recent average catch for the Main Hawaiian Island Deep 7 bottomfish stock complex (217,846 lbs.) accounted for 44.3% of its prescribed ACL (492,000 lbs.). Note that ACLs were not specified for non-Deep 7 bottomfish other than uku and CREMUS because of the recent ecosystem component amendment to the Hawaii FEP that reclassified many previous MUS as ECS. In 2019, the Main Hawaiian Island Deep 7 bottomfish fishery was characterized by decreasing trends in catch and effort relative to 10- and 20-year averages. This decline can likely be attributed to trends in the portion of the fishery that harvests using deep-sea handline, which is responsible for a majority of Deep 7 bottomfish catch in the main Hawaiian Islands (MHI). v Annual SAFE Report for the Hawaii Archipelago FEP Executive Summary Catches of opakapaka (Pristipomoides filamentosus; 67,218 lbs.) declined nearly 45% relative to its 10-year average and 42% compared to its 20-year average. One Deep 7 bottomfish species, gindai (Pristipomoides zonatu), did have increases relative to its short- and long-term trends, while ehu (Etelis carbunculus) had an increase of over 2% compared to its 20-year trend. Non- deep sea handling methods catching Deep 7 bottomfish species are responsible for a much lower portion of catch but did have increases relative to historical averages for several species. Due to the ECS amendment to the Hawaii Archipelago FEP in 2019, the non-Deep 7 bottomfish fishery is now solely comprised of uku (Aprion virescens). Total catch for uku (89,836 lbs.) was 17% lower than its 10-year average and 1.5% lower than its 20-year average, likely due to reductions in catch from deep-sea handline and trolling. While catch was lower to uku relative to its historic averages, the CPUE was higher than short- and long-term trends for all gears harvesting uku except for trolling; this may potentially be associated with the observed decline in trips for all gears compared to historical averages. The Hawaii coral reef ecosystem component section in the 2019 report replaced the section on CREMUS finfish from previous report cycles. The most harvested ECS in 2019 were akule (Selar crumenophthalmus) and opelu (Decapterus macarellus) followed by parrotfish (multi- species), menpachi (Myripristis spp.), taape (Lutjanus kasmira), and palani (Acanthurus dussumieri). In general, harvest for prioritized ECS (as selected by HDAR) exhibited declines in fishing participation, effort, and catch when comparing 2019 statistics to historical trends. All ten prioritized ECS had reductions in the number of licenses fishing and the number of fishing trips taken. All monitored species and groups except for uhu (parrotfish) and taape had 2019 catch values indicating declines from their 20-year averages. Also notable was that 2019 catches of kumu (Parupeneus porphyus) were down over 85% from their short- and long-term trends. While the observed catch of opihi (limpet) species declined, the number of individuals harvested greatly increased relative to historical trends. In 2019, the MHI crustacean fishery, now comprised of only deepwater shrimp and kona crab, had an overall decline in catch relative to available short- and long-term trends. In general, there was a greater number of fishing trips taken for these species than recorded in their historical trends, but total catch (18,296 lbs.) decreased by 17% from its 10-year trend and 30% from its 20-year trend. Effort, participation, and catch values for shrimp species harvested by shrimp trap were not disclosed due to data confidentiality (i.e., less than three licenses reporting). Kona crab harvested by loop net had increases