December 19, 2008 Prepared by: Paul Bartram Katrina Nakamura J. John Kaneko MS, DVM George Krasnick PacMar, Inc. 3615 Harding Avenue, Suite 408-409 Honolulu, Hawaii 96816 Prepared for: Hawaii Seafood Project 2 National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration U.S. Department of Commerce This document was prepared by PacMar, Inc. under Award No. NA06NMF4520222 from NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce. The statements, findings, conclusions and recommendations are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of NOAA or the U.S. Department of Commerce. Table of Contents ABSTRACT........................................................................................................................................................1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY..............................................................................................................................2 INTRODUCTION TO RESPONSIBLE FISHERIES ASSESSMENT AND THE CODE OF CONDUCT.................................................................................................................................................3 METHODOLOGY: SCORING THE RESPONSIBILITY OF HAWAII LONGLINE FISHERIES........................................................................................................................................................8 RESULTS......................................................................................................................................................... 10 DISCUSSION................................................................................................................................................. 15 CONCLUSION.............................................................................................................................................. 16 REFERENCES............................................................................................................................................... 17 APPENDIX A ................................................................................................................................................ 19 ARTICLE 7 – FISHERIES MANAGEMENT ........................................................................................ 20 ARTICLE 8 – FISHING OPERATIONS............................................................................................... 113 ARTICLE 10 – INTEGRATION OF FISHERIES INTO COASTAL AREA MGT.................... 179 ARTICLE 11 – POST-HARVEST PRACTICES AND TRADE ....................................................... 201 ARTICLE 12 – FISHERIES RESEARCH.............................................................................................. 233 1. ABSTRACT Hawaii’s pelagic longline fisheries were reassessed in 2008 using the provisions of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries (Code) as a scoring system. The 2006 Responsible Fisheries Assessment (RFA) is the most comprehensive application of the Code for the assessment of a pelagic longline fishery according to the FAO. The Hawaii longline fisheries are the first in the United States to have been fully assessed and scored comprehensively against Articles of the Code relevant to wild capture fisheries. The 2008 RFA demonstrates the practical application of the Code for monitoring progress in a fishery towards compliance. The RFA process applies FAO’s internationally-accepted set of criteria which define a responsible fishery managed for sustainability. The RFA was revised in 2008 because of significant changes in the domestic and international fishery management framework resulting primarily from the December 2006 reauthorization of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act and recent developments of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission. The 2008 RFA of the Hawaii longline fisheries resulted in a cumulative score of 94% compliance (265.5 of 283 points) with the prescriptive and applicable Articles of the Code. These include Article 7 Fishery Management (96% or 109.5 of 114 points), Article 8 Fishing Operations (93% or 70 of 75 points), Article 10 Integration with Coastal Area Management (83% or 17.5 of 21 points), Article 11 Post–harvest Practices and Trade (95% or 38 of 40 points) and Article 12 Fisheries Research (92% or 30.5 of 33 points). 1 Bartram, P., K. Nakamura, J.J. Kaneko and G. Krasnick, PacMar, Inc., Honolulu, Hawaii Hawaii Seafood Project-2 (NOAA Award No. NA06NMF4520222). December 19, 2008 2. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Hawaii longline fisheries were assessed using the provisions of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries (FAO 1995) as a scoring system. The Responsible Fisheries Assessment (RFA) process is a way to assess a fishery against the Code, a comprehensive and internationally-accepted set of criteria that define a responsible fishery managed for sustainability. The 2008 RFA has been completed as part of the Hawaii Seafood Project (NOAA Award No. NA06NMF4520222, PacMar, Inc., Honolulu, Hawaii). The first RFA of the Hawaii longline fisheries (Bartram et al., 2006) was completed in December 2006 under the Hawaii Seafood Project (NOAA Award No. NA05NMF4521112, PacMar Inc.). The 2006 RFA was the first and most comprehensive application of the Code for the assessment of a pelagic longline fishery. The methodology was reviewed and published as a model for the application of the Code by the FAO (Caddy et al., 2007). The RFA was revised in 2008 because of significant changes in the domestic and international fishery management framework resulting primarily from the re-authorized Magnuson- Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act and recent developments of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission. The FAO developed a scoring system and a 193 question checklist to facilitate and standardize the application of the Code (Caddy 1996). This was expanded (Bartram et al., 2006) to 283 questions to include Code provisions that were not covered by the original FAO checklist. Scoring was done by PacMar Inc. (Paul Bartram, Katrina Nakamura, John Kaneko and George Krasnick) applying the FAO methodology (Caddy 1996). Scorecards contain the original language and questions formatted to address each Code provision. Answers provide the rationale for scoring. For transparency, answers are referenced whenever possible with links to electronic documents and websites that provide background and detail. Readers are advised to review the scorecards electronically so that they can link to relevant websites and documents. 2008 summary scores for Hawaii longline fisheries follow: • Article 7 (Fishery Management) 96% (109.5 of 114 points) • Article 8 (Fishing Operations) 93% (70 of 75 points) • Article 10 (Integration with Coastal Zone Mgt) 83% (17.5 of 21 points) • Article 11 (Post-harvest Practices and Trade) 95% (38 of 40 points) • Article 12 (Fisheries Research) 92% (30.5 of 33 points) Cumulative RFA Score 94% (265.5 of 283 points) The credibility of the RFA process flows directly from the agencies involved in the management of the fishery. The RFA process documents the working relationships among the components of the management system. The agencies directly involved in the integrated management system (NOAA Pacific Islands Regional Office and Fisheries Science Center, Western Pacific Fishery Management Council, US Coast Guard and the Pelagic Fisheries Research Program) reviewed the 2008 RFA to ensure accuracy, transparency and credibility of the assessment. Maintaining an RFA is important for Hawaii to document responsible pelagic longline fisheries that supply sustainable seafood. 2 Bartram, P., K. Nakamura, J.J. Kaneko and G. Krasnick, PacMar, Inc., Honolulu, Hawaii Hawaii Seafood Project-2 (NOAA Award No. NA06NMF4520222). December 19, 2008 3. INTRODUCTION TO THE RESPONSIBLE FISHERIES ASSESSMENT AND THE FAO CODE OF CONDUCT FOR RESPONSIBLE FISHERIES 3.1 Why is it important to assess the responsible nature of Fisheries? Sustainable seafood is produced by responsible fisheries. Differentiating sustainable seafood in the market place requires demonstration that a fishery is responsible and managed for sustainable use. A science-based fishery management system that applies an ecosystem approach and the precautionary principle is a pre-requisite for a well-managed, responsible fishery. A comprehensive and objective set of criteria for responsible fisheries is needed for comparison of seafood sources. Without a meaningful way to distinguish sustainable seafood in the market and without rewards for responsible fishing and punishments for irresponsible fishing embedded in fishery management systems, there will be no incentive for fisheries to become more responsible. Responsible fisheries need to be rewarded in negotiations for access to fishery resources. Regional fishery management organizations (RFMO) must recognize the profound positive force for sustainability that tangible benefits for responsible fisheries can produce in multi- national fisheries such as Pacific tuna. RFMOs must also adhere to the precautionary principle and science-based management and consider the negative impact of uniformly assigning quotas to fishery segments that provide significant quantities of high-quality and timely fishery data with which fish stock assessments and management actions are based. Consumers can share in the obligation to support responsible fisheries by seeking out sustainable seafood. Consumer preference