A Night Handline Fishery for Tunas in Hawaii Ped Themselves with Gear to Catch the Tuna
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Heeny S. H. Yuen is with the Honolulu Laboratory, Southwest Fisheries Center, ational Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA, Honolulu, HI 96812. A Night Handline Fishery for Tunas in Hawaii ped themselves with gear to catch the tuna. The exact year when the fishery HEENY S. H. YUEN started is not known. The first Oki nawans arrived in Hawaii in 1899 to work in the then burgeoning sugar Introduction To my knowledge, the only other industry (United Japanese Society of place where this method is used is in the Hawaii, 1971). It took another 7 or 8 Modern commercial fishing for Philippine Islands. There, virtually all years, however, for the immigrants to tunas brings to mind large superseiners of the commercial yellowfin tuna catch reach large numbers. By 1911, 12,000 and longliners with complicated and is made on night handlines (OswaW). were living in Hawaii. Allowing for costly equipment and gear. In contrast, Even in Hawaii this technique is used time to fulfill their contracts with the the rapidly growing night handline only by fishermen on the island of sugar plantations, I would guess that fishery for tunas near the island of Hawaii. Fishermen from the other the fishery for squid started in the Hawaii is remarkable in its simplicity islands in the State have not yet second decade of the 1900's. and effectiveness. This fishery catches adopted it. The information in this In the early years of the fishery the bigeye tuna, Thunnus obesus; yellow paper may stimulate interest in hand boats were powered by sail; by the fin tuna, T. albacares; and albacore, line fishing in other areas. 1930's up to about 40 motorized boats T. alalunga; on elementary gear, a This report includes a brief history of were involved. Until World War II the hook and line. the fishery in Hawaii, a description of fishery was primarily for squid. The The effectiveness of the method is the fishing method and gear, a descrip incidental tunas caught were known as demonstrated by its catch rate which is tion of the catch and its value, and a "ika-sibi" (squid-tuna in Japanese), the approximately two fish per hook per summary discussion. The data for this name by which the fishery is called night on the average. In comparison, report were gathered in 1976. Minor today. Because the boats were too catch rates of Hawaiian longline changes in method and new fishing small to have the large fish on board vessels are on the order of 0.03 fish per areas since then are incorporated in and did 110t carry ice to chill the catch, hook per day (Otsu, 1954). this report. these tunas were towed alongside the Because of its inexpensive require boat on the way to port. Consequently, ments, this method of fishing seems the ika-sibi had a reputation for having like a promising method for the many History poor quality and could not compete on financially impoverished island com In 1976 night handline operations the market with tunas caught on munities in the tropical Pacific Ocean for tuna in Hawaii were made exclu longlines. to utilize a marketable resource of sively from Hilo (population 28,500). The squid fishery stopped abruptly export value. Nevertheless night The following account of the origins of on 7 December 1941, with the Japanese handline fishing for tunas is not a the fishery are from interviews of attack on Pearl Harbor. Maritime widespread practice. oldtimers in the fishing community of restrictions prevented boats from that city as written references were not fishing at night for the duration of found. World War II. Immigrants from Okinawa are When the fishery was resumed after believed to have started the fishery. the war, three to four boats equipped They went out at night to catch squid with iceboxes targeted on the tunas. ABSTRACT-Night handline fishing as they had done in Okinawa. Occa Until 1971 the tuna-oriented part ofthe effectively catches tunas in localized sionally something large would strike fishery was limited to these few boats areas. The fishery for tunas by this and snap their lines. Upon checking by the market for fresh tuna. The entire method in Hila, Hawaii, experienced a rapid growth when high prices on the with the native Hawaiians they learned catch was sold on the island of Hawaii, fresh tuna market andfast air delivery to that the strikes were probably made by which had a popultion of 55,000 distant cities made new markets for the large tuna. They subsequently equip- 63,000 during that period. By 1971 catch available. The simplicity of the fresh tuna prices had increased enough method and low cost ofequipment makes to make air shipment of tunas to other it a promising methodfor island cultures 'E. Oswald, South China Sea Fisheries De markets economical. By 1976 the night oflow technology to usefor developing a velopment and Coordinating Programme, fishery. The paper describes the fishing Makati, Rizal, Philippines. Pers. commun., handline fishing fleet had grown to method and gear in detail. 1976. about 30 boats, about half of which August 1979 7 are turned on. Some fishermen use just the above surface lights and some use just the underwater light but most of them use both types. Typically 25-W and 50-W incandescent bulbs are used for the above surface and underwater ,-------20 lights, respectively. Some fishermen use slightly brighter lights on moonlit nights. The first fishing operation is to catch the squid, NOlodarus hawaiiensis, for bait. Cross-sections of mackerel scad. Decaplerus pinnulalus, or frozen squid, Loligo opalescens, roughly I inch (3 cm) wide, are used as chum. Squid are caught by angling and gaffing. The hooks are baited with mackerel scad by cutting off the tail so that the body of the scad is the proper length to fit on the shank of the hook and inserting the shank of the hook through the length of the fish starting with the cut end and ending at the mouth. A light line or wire attached to the proximal tip of the shank is wound around the fish to keep it from falling apart. This makes it possible to use the same piece of bait repeatedly despite the squid bites that are inflicted upon it. The baited hook is tossed out about 5 li6° W I 5° m and slowly pulled back to the boat. Figure I.-Fishing locations of night handline fishery for tunas. In this manner the hook is used not only to hook squid but also to lure the school of squid to within gaffing range of the boat. were part-timers. In 1977 over 40 boats side, successfully used night handlines A few fishermen prefer to gaff the were involved in the fishery from Hilo in areas where the bottom is 4-5 km squid exclusively. In this case the squid and about 10 or so boats were fishing deep and relatively flat. They fished at are lured to the boat by tossing out a from Kona on the west side of the night at sites where tuna were located whole scad hooked through the head island. during the day (Morioka\ with a fish hook and retrieving it in the Geographic expansion of the fishery same manner applied to the squid . Fishing Operations was accompanied by an expansion in hook. In 1976 the only fishing area was the fishing season. In 1976 the handline In the past, fishing for tuna began located 24-32 km (15-20 miles) north fishing season was from July through after 5-10 squid had been caught. east of the port city of Hilo on the east December. This still holds true for the Today most fishermen bait their tuna side of the island. Since then the fishery east side of the island. On the west side lines with mackerel scad and proceed has expanded to other areas, the main of the island the season runs from with fishing while catching squid for ones of which are east of Hilo, south January to April. bait. In fishing for tuna the baited hook of Pohoiki, and the southern half of The boats leave port to get to the is lowered to 20-30 m. The fishing line the west side of the island (Fig. I). The grounds at sundown. Upon arrival the is tied to the boat with a restraining line areas fished are characterized by a engine is turned off and a parachute is to keep the hook at the desired depth. marked increase in slope of the bottom attached to the bow and lowered into The restraining line is fairly heavy, beyond the edge of the shelf that ajoins the water as a sea anchor. Two above about 18-34 kg (40-75 pounds) break the island. The depth of the shelf at the surface lights and one underwater light ing strength, because it is intended to edge is about 400 m in the areas on the set the hook when the fish strikes. east side of the island and 200 m on the Three well separated hooks are fished: 2R. Morioka, Hawaiian Telephone Company. west side. During 1978 a few fishermen P.O. Box 1510, Kailua-Kona. Hawaii 96740. One at the bow, one amidship, and one from Kona, a district on the western Pel's. commun., 1978. at the stern. Some boats fish a hook at 8 Murine Fisheries Review each corner of the stern and one squid. A typical squid jig (Fig. 2) has Above surface lights are 25-W incan amidship. one of the boats seems to a shank 25 cm long and eight prongs descent bulbs with polished metal fish more than three hooks at a time.