Fishery Statistics of the Western Pacific Volume 31 Territory of American Samoa (2014) Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (2014) Territory of Guam (2014) State of Hawaii (2014) Compiled by M. Kimberly Lowe, Michael M. C. Quach, Karen R. Brousseau Ashley S. Tomita and Toby E. Matthews August 2016 Administrative Report H-16-09 doi:10.25923/2mzx-tv66 About this report Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center Administrative Reports are issued to promptly disseminate scientific and technical information to marine resource managers, scientists, and the general public. Their contents cover a range of topics, including biological and economic research, stock assessment, trends in fisheries, and other subjects. Administrative Reports typically have not been reviewed outside the Center. As such, they are considered informal publications. The material presented in Administrative Reports may later be published in the formal scientific literature after more rigorous verification, editing, and peer review. Other publications are free to cite Administrative Reports as they wish provided the informal nature of the contents is clearly indicated and proper credit is given to the author(s). Administrative Reports may be cited as follows: M. K. Lowe, M.M.C. Quach, K.R. Brousseau, A.S. Tomita and T.E. Matthews. 2014. Fishery Statistics of the Western Pacific, Volume 31. Pacific Islands Fish. Sci. Cent., Natl. Mar. Fish. Serv., NOAA, Honolulu, HI 96822-2396. Pacific Islands Fish. Sci. Cent. Admin. Rep. H-16- 09, var. p. https://doi.org/10.25923/2mzx-tv66 For further information, direct inquiries to: Chief, Scientific Information Services Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center National Marine Fisheries Service National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration U.S. Department of Commerce 1845 Wasp Boulevard Building 176 Honolulu, Hawaii 96818-5007 Phone: 808-725-5331 Fax: 808-725-5532 Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center Administrative Report H-16-09 Fishery Statistics of the Western Pacific Volume 31 Territory of American Samoa (2014) Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (2014) Territory of Guam (2014) State of Hawaii (2014) Compiled By M. Kimberly Lowe¹, Michael M. C. Quach¹, Karen R. Brousseau² Ashley S. Tomita², and Toby E. Mathews² ¹National Marine Fisheries Service Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center 1845 Wasp Boulevard, Honolulu, Hawaii 96818-5007 ²Joint Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research 1000 Pope Road University of Hawaii, Manoa Honolulu, Hawaii 96822 August 2016 iii CONTENTS Page Introduction 1 Caveats 2 Definitions of Species Categories 3 Graphs 4 Section A: American Samoa Introduction A.1 Data Collection Programs A.2 Data Processing A.8 Data Reporting A.10 Species Categories A.10 Interpretation of Statistics A.14 Tables A.16 Figures A.47 Section B: Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Introduction B.1 Data Collection B.2 Data Processing B.6 Data Reporting B.6 Species Categories B.7 Tables B.12 Figures B.35 Section C: Guam Introduction C.1 Data Collection C.2 Data Processing C.6 Data Reporting C.6 Species Categories C.7 Tables C.12 Figures C.36 Section D: State of Hawaii Introduction D.1 Northwestern Hawaii Islands Marine National Monument D.1 D.3 Data Collection D.4 Civil Resources Violation System D.5 Data Processing D.6 Data Reporting D.6 Species Categories D.7 Section D: State of Hawaii (continued) Page Tables D.13 Figures D.65 iv PREFACE There is an increasing worldwide demand for data and information relating to marine fisheries, in order to ensure their sustainable harvest and management. To help meet this need in the central and western Pacific areas, the National Marine Fisheries Service’s (NMFS) Southwest Fisheries Science Center (SWFSC), Honolulu Laboratory initiated the Western Pacific Fisheries Information Network (WPacFIN) in the early 1980s. WPacFIN is a partnership of fisheries agencies from across the US Pacific islands, which serves as a centralized data warehouse and assists the agencies in improving their data collecting, processing, and reporting capabilities. In 1982, WPacFIN partner agencies (page 1) formed a Fisheries Data Coordinating Committee (FDCC), which delegated a FDCC Technical Subcommittee to help guide, coordinate, and plan WPacFIN fisheries data-related projects and activities. Over the ensuing decades, all participating agencies have made significant progress, particularly in the area of upgrading data collection and processing systems. In May 1985, the FDCC took a big step towards improving and coordinating data reporting and distribution systems of the agencies, and agreed to produce a combined document that would report each island’s major fisheries statistics. Production of the document would be the responsibility of the FDCC Technical Subcommittee and would be coordinated by the WPacFIN Program Manager. Each agency agreed to supply the data required to produce the tables and graphs for its respective section, and WPacFIN centralized staff (in Honolulu) would produce and distribute the document as part of the Administrative Report Series. In April 2003, NMFS created a new Pacific Islands Region (PIR) comprised of the Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC, formerly SWFSC’s Honolulu Laboratory) and the Pacific Islands Regional Office (PIRO, formerly Southwest Regional Office’s Pacific Islands Area Office). The reorganization placed this statistical report under affiliation with PIFSC, as opposed to with SWFSC. Although the FDCC was formally discontinued in April 2015, the functions fulfilled by that body are now met via working groups, technical meetings, site visits, multi-media conferencing (telecom, webinar, etc.), and occasional workshops. The need for a consolidated annual summary publication for the US-associated Pacific islands also persists. This is the 31st volume in the series, “Fishery Statistics of the Western Pacific”. It contains summaries of commercial landings for American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, and Hawaii for the year 2014. As with previous volumes, it has four sections, one for each of the major island areas. Each section contains reports regarding monthly and annual commercial landings by species and/or major groups. INTRODUCTION Fisheries agency and industry partners participating in the Western Pacific Fisheries Information Network (WPacFIN), a collaborative fisheries data collection network that includes Hawaii, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), and American Samoa, compiled the data in this report. WPacFIN’s goal is to improve access to and dissemination of fisheries information. Participating agencies include the following: Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources (DMWR) American Samoa NOAA Pacific Islands Regional Office (PIRO), Fisheries Monitoring Field Office and Observer Program, American Samoa Commonwealth of the Department of Lands and Natural Resources, Division of Fish and Northern Mariana Wildlife (DFW) Islands (CNMI) Department of Agriculture, Division of Aquatic and Wildlife Resources (DAWR) Guam Bureau of Statistics and Plans (BSP; formerly Department of Commerce) Department of Land and Natural Resources, Division of Aquatic Resources (DAR) Hawaii NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC) NOAA Pacific Islands Regional Office (PIRO) Western Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Council (Council) WPacFIN and these agency partners collect, digitize, conduct quality control, edit and otherwise process data from the islands. WPacFIN staff at the Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center then use these data to create the summaries and graphs found in this document. In 1981, when WPacFIN began assisting agencies in improving their data collecting and processing systems, only the State of Hawaii had computerized processing. By mid-1982, fisheries offices in American Samoa, Guam, and CNMI were using WPacFIN-supplied computers to process data. Since that time, these agencies have made significant improvements in their data collection methodology and have established various automated data processing systems with support from WPacFIN Central. 2 WPacFIN has established File Transfer Protocols (FTP) for all the island areas, with support from PIFSC Information Technology Services (ITS). Online data entry and FTP for DAR are also supported by the Department of Accounting and General Services and Hawaii ITS contractors. Once data from all agencies has reached the WPacFIN centralized data system and appropriate editing, adjustment, and validation procedures are completed, summary tables and charts are produced using freeware and commercially available database and server applications developed by WPacFIN Central staff. CAVEATS Data collection, compilation, and processing systems vary greatly among Pacific Island fisheries agencies. Although a lot of effort has made to standardize data systems over the years, many unique aspects remain, resulting from differences in local requirements, resources, abilities, and other factors. As a result, interpretation and comparison of data across islands from this report, requires recognition of several caveats. For example, Hawaii’s commercial landings data summaries are based on mandatory monthly reporting by fish dealers and licensed commercial fishers, and data from federal longline logbooks. In contrast, commercial landings estimates for CNMI and Guam are based on voluntary reporting by major fish buyers, using government-provided invoices, adjusted to represent 100% coverage of estimated fishing