



U.S. fisheries are classified under the Marine Mammal Protection Act according to the level of incidental mortality or serious injury of marine mammals.
Gear Type |
Longline (deep-set), Purse seine, Longline (shallow-set), Handline/pole and line, Troll |
Category |
Category I - longline (HI deep-set);Category II - purse seine, longline (HI shallow-set), handline/pole and line, troll |
Estimated Number of Participants ‡ |
Longline (deep-set) - 150; Purse seine - 0; Longline (shallow-set) - 14; Handline/pole and line - 1; Troll - 7 |
Target Species |
tunas (albacore, bigeye, yellowfin, bluefin, and skipjack), billfish (Indo-Pacific blue marlin, black marlin, striped marlin, shortbill spearfish), sharks (pelagic thresher, bigeye thresher, common thresher, silky, oceanic whitetip, blue, shortfin mako, longfin mako, and salmon), swordfish, sailfish, wahoo, kawakawa, moonfish, pomfret, oilfish, and other tuna relatives. |
Applicable Take Reduction Plans |
Longline gear used in this fishery is subject to the False Killer Whale Take Reduction Plan |
Observer Coverage § |
Observer coverage for the Category I ‘‘HI deep-set (tuna target) longline fishery’’ (exceeded 20% from 2001-2008) and the Category II “HI shallow-set (swordfish target) longline fishery” (mandatory 100% coverage since 2004) fisheries operating in U.S. waters extends into the high seas. Observer data are not available for all other gear types used in the high seas Western Pacific Pelagic fisheries. |
Marine Mammal Species/Stocks Killed or Injured |
Longline (HI deep-set) *: Bottlenose dolphin, HI Pelagic; False killer whale, HI Pelagic; Kogia spp. (Pygmy or dwarf sperm whale), HI; Risso’s dolphin, HI; Short-finned pilot whale, HI; Striped dolphin, HI Purse seine: No information Longline (HI shallow-set)†: Bottlenose dolphin, HI Pelagic; False killer whale, HI Pelagic; Fin whale, HI; Guadalupe fur seal; Humpback whale, Central North Pacific; Risso’s dolphin, HI; Striped dolphin, HI Handline/pole and line/Pole and line: No information Troll: No information |
* The observer program for the Category I “HI deep-set (tuna target) longline fishery” operating in U.S waters extends into the high seas; therefore, information is available on which marine mammal stocks are incidentally taken by this fishery on the high seas. The marine mammal stocks listed here have been observed killed or injured in the high seas component of this fishery.
† The observer program for the Category II “HI shallow-set (swordfish target) longline fishery” operating in U.S waters extends into the high seas: therefore, information is available on which marine mammal stocks are incidentally taken by this fishery on the high seas. The marine mammal stocks listed here have been observed killed or injured in the high seas component of this fishery.
‡ The number of vessels and participants operating in the Western Pacific Pelagic High Seas fishery do not necessarily represent additional fishers than those accounted for in fisheries operating within U.S. waters. Many fishers holding Western Pacific Pelagic high seas fishing permits also fish within U.S. waters and are included in the numbers of estimated vessels and participants operating within those fisheries. The number of participants listed represents only the number of permits for the high seas component of the fishery.
§ Observer coverage levels include the latest information reported in the most current final Stock Assessment Report (SAR).
1 Indicates the stock or species is driving the classification of the fishery.
The HI deep-set longline component of this high seas fishery is classified as a Category I because it is an extension of the Category I “HI deep-set (tuna target) longline fishery” operating within U.S. waters, and is not a separate fishery. The gear used, fishing methods, and target species are the same, and longline vessels targeting Western Pacific Pelagic species regularly cross into the high seas, and back, when fishing.
The HI shallow-set longline component of this high seas fishery is classified as a Category I because it is an extension of the Category II “HI shallow-set (swordfish target) longline fishery” operating within U.S. waters, and is not a separate fishery. The gear used, fishing methods, and target species are the same, and longline vessels targeting Western Pacific Pelagic species regularly cross into the high seas, and back, when fishing.
All other gear components of this high seas fishery are classified as Category II due to the lack of specific information on marine mammal abundance and interactions with fisheries on the high seas.
The high seas Western Pacific Pelagic fisheries take place in the Western Pacific Fishery Management Area (including waters shoreward of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) boundary around American Samoa, Guam, Hawaii, the Northern Mariana Islands, Midway, Johnston and Palmyra Atolls, Kingman Reef, and Wake, Jarvis, Baker, and Howland Islands) and the adjacent high seas waters. The high seas components of the Western Pacific Pelagic longline fishery are extensions of the Category I ‘‘HI deep-set (tuna target) longline/set line fishery’’ and the Category II ‘‘HI shallow-set (swordfish target) longline/set line fishery.”
The high seas Western Pacific pelagic fisheries are virtually the same as fisheries targeting Western Pacific pelagic species in U.S. waters. The main gears used to fish in the high seas Western Pacific Pelagic fisheries are pelagic longline, troll, and handline/pole and line.
Both a Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA) and a High Seas Fishing Compliance Act (HSFCA) permit are required to fish in CCAMLR waters. The high seas Western Pacific Pelagic fisheries are managed under regulations implementing the Fishery Management Plan for the Pelagic Fisheries of the Western Pacific Region developed by the Western Pacific Fishery Management Council (WPFMC). The MSA regulations (50 CFR 665, subpart C) address target fish species as well as bycatch of species protected under the Endangered Species Act, Marine Mammal Protection Act, and Migratory Bird Treaty Act. The MSA regulations outline restrictions on effort, observer coverage requirements, longline fishing prohibited areas, sea turtle and seabird bycatch mitigation measures, annual fleetwide limits on interactions with leatherback and loggerhead sea turtles, and a requirement for owners of longline vessels to participate in annual protected species workshops. Drift gillnet fishing in the fishery management area is prohibited, except where authorized by an experimental fishery permit. All requirements for vessels fishing longline gear within U.S. waters remain effective in high seas waters.
Original Category (Year added to the LOF) |
Category I - longline (deep-set); Category II - longline (shallow-set), trawl, purse seine, pot, handline/pole and line, troll, liners not elsewhere identified, factory mothership, multipurpose vessels, and fishing vessels not elsewhere identified. (2009) |
Original Number of Participants |
Longline (deep-set)- 129; Longline (shallow-set)- 28; Trawl- 11; Purse seine- 4; Pot- 8; Handline/pole and line/Pole and line- 8; Troll- 44; Liners not elsewhere identified- 2; Factory mothership- 1; Multipurpose vessels- 7; Fishing vessels not elsewhere identified- 2. |
Basis for Original Classification |
The deep-set longline component of this high seas fishery was classified as a Category I because it is an extension of the Category I “HI deep-set (tuna target) longline fishery” operating within U.S. waters, and not a separate fishery. The gear used, fishing methods, and target species are the same, and longline vessels targeting Western Pacific Pelagic species regularly cross into the high seas, and back, when fishing. The shallow-set longline component of this high seas fishery was classified as a Category I because it is an extension of the Category II “HI shallow-set (swordfish target) longline fishery” operating within U.S. waters, and not a separate fishery. The gear used, fishing methods, and target species are the same, and longline vessels targeting Western Pacific Pelagic species regularly cross into the high seas, and back, when fishing. All other gear components of this high seas fishery are classified as Category II, the appropriate classification for new fisheries on the LOF for which there is little information on which to base a classification, due to the lack of specific information on marine mammal abundance and interactions with fisheries on the high seas. |
Past Names |
N/A |
Species/stocks historically documented as killed or injured (but not currently on the list) |
Longline (HI deep-set): Blainville's beaked whale, HI; Humpback whale, Central North Pacific; Pygmy killer whale, HI; Sperm whale, HI; Spinner dolphin, HI; Pantropical spotted dolphin, HI; Longline (HI shallow-set): Blainville's beaked whale, HI; Bryde’s whale, HI; Ginkgo-toothed beaked whale; Kogia spp., HI; Northern elephant seal, CA breeding; Mesoplodon sp., unknown; Pantropical spotted dolphin, unknown; Rough-toothed dolphin, HI; Short-beaked common dolphin, CA/OR/WA; Short-finned pilot whale, HI; Sperm whale, unknown |
2023 |
Longline (HI deep-set):
Purse seine:
Longline (HI shallow-set):
Handline/pole and line/pole and line:
Troll:
|
2022 |
Longline (HI deep-set):
Longline (HI shallow-set):
Troll:
|
2021 |
Longline (HI deep-set):
Longline (HI shallow-set):
Troll:
|
2020 |
Longline (HI deep-set):
Longline (HI shallow-set):
Handline/pole and line/pole and line:
Troll:
|
2019 |
Longline (HI deep-set):
Longline (HI shallow-set):
Handline/pole and line/pole and line:
|
2018 |
Longline (HI deep-set):
Longline (HI shallow-set):
Handline/pole and line/pole and line:
Purse seine:
Troll:
|
2017 |
Longline (deep-set):
Longline (shallow-set):
Handline/pole and line:
Troll:
|
2016 |
Longline (deep-set):
Longline (shallow-set):
Handline/pole and line:
Troll:
|
2015 |
Longline (deep-set):
Longline (shallow-set):
Handline/pole and line:
|
2014 |
Longline (deep-set):
Longline (shallow-set):
Handline/pole and line:
Troll:
|
2013 |
Longline (deep-set):
Longline (shallow-set):
Handline/pole and line:
Trawl:
Troll:
|
2012 |
Longline (deep-set):
Longline (shallow-set):
Handline/pole and line:
Multipurpose:
Pot:
Trawl:
Troll:
|
2011 |
Longline (deep-set):
Longline (shallow-set):
Handline/pole and line:
Trawl:
Troll:
|
2010 |
Longline (deep-set):
Longline (shallow-set):
Pot:
Purse seine:
Handline/pole and line:
Liners not elsewhere identified:
Multipurpose vessels:
Trawl:
|