No. Hawaii longline fishermen follow U.S. and international regulations when operating in U.S. and international waters. There is intensive monitoring and enforcement in this fishery and the level of compliance is high.
No. All vessels operating in Hawaii longline fisheries must be U.S-flagged. No foreign fishing vessels are allowed to engage in longline fishing or transshipment in the Exclusive Economic Zone extending 200 nautical miles offshore of Hawaii and foreign vessels cannot unload fish catches in Hawaii. The U.S. Coast Guard is vigilant against illegal, unregulated and unreported (IUU) fishing vessels.
Hawaii longline fishermen report their catch. Each landing of fish through the Honolulu Fish Auction is fully traceable to a particular licensed vessel. Hawaii longline operators are required to submit a completed longline fishing logbook that reports the daily fishing activity to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC) within 72 hours after returning to port. The reliability of logbook data has been verified using observer data from Hawaii longline fisheries.
No. Some articles in high-profile scientific journals claim to show catastrophic declines in population sizes and warn of wholesale collapse of oceanic food chains. These prophecies are based on the selective use of small, biased subsets of the data and on faulty analyses. The most credible analysis is published by the scientists who perform stock assessments for NOAA Fisheries, the University of Hawaii’s Pelagic Fisheries Research Program, the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission and the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission. Using state-of-the-art methods applied to all available data, these uniquely qualified scientists conclude that there is little impact of fisheries on some Pacific tuna populations harvested by Hawaii longline fisheries but substantial, though not catastrophic, impacts on others.
Of the pelagic species caught in the Hawaii longline fishery only the bigeye tuna is experiencing overfishing. Quotas are in place to eliminate overfishing. This does not mean we should stop eating Hawaii bigeye tuna. We should be concerned about bigeye tuna from fleets that are not willing to or able to adhere to quotas
All Hawaii tuna are line-caught by hand and therefore “dolphin-safe” because no nets are used to encircle dolphin schools with tuna. Dolphin-safe regulations and labeling are in place for tuna caught by purse seiners that fish in areas where dolphins swim with tuna schools (ex. eastern Pacific). This does not happen in the area where Hawaii longline fishing occurs.
No. Hawaii longline fisheries are managed under Federal regulations that conform to the mandate of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA) to minimize bycatch of fish and non-fish species. Fish bycatch is minimized and catch utilization is maximized in the multi-species pelagic fish catches of these fisheries. Most of the fish are retained after capture because Hawaii’s fresh fish market values diverse species. The major exception is the blue shark which few if any consider edible, which is released alive with a good chance of survival after accidental capture. Fish that survive interactions with fishing gear are not considered bycatch when defined as fishery waste. Catch and release sport fishing is no different and is commonly considered a conservation measure.
Sea turtles can become hooked and or entangled in pelagic longline fishing gear. When accidentally hooked or entangled, sea turtles can usually be released alive. Leading sea turtle scientists have concluded that not even the total elimination of the Hawaii longline fisheries would result in a measurable impact on Pacific sea turtle populations because incidental captures and mortalities are so rare. NOAA prepared Biological Opinions in 2004 and 2008 and concluded that the anticipated impacts of the Hawaii longline fisheries on sea turtles was not likely to jeopardize the continued existence of these species.
Yes. The swordfish sector of the Hawaii longline fishery was closed for three years because of the perception of a high level of gear interactions with protected sea turtles. This sector was re-opened in 2004 under new Federal regulations that require the use of circle (rather than J) hooks and fish (rather than squid) bait and other measures to minimize the severity of injuries and trauma to sea turtles after accidental capture. Limits have been placed on sea turtle interactions with Hawaii longline gear. In the event that a predetermined limit on the number of loggerhead (17) or leatherback turtle (16) interactions is exceeded, the swordfish sector of Hawaii longline fisheries is closed for the rest of the calendar year, regardless of whether it has reached total allowable sets. The limit has only been reached once since it was imposed. The new regulations have resulted in an 89 percent reduction in the incidental interactions with all turtle species in the Hawaii swordfish longline fishery.
