Overview
In the Pacific Islands, NOAA Fisheries deploys observers on Hawaiʻi shallow-set pelagic longline trips (targeting swordfish) and Hawaiʻi and American Samoa deep-set longline trips (targeting tuna). The observers collect data on effort and catch, as well as incidental interactions with protected species, such as sea turtles and marine mammals. Program staff, working closely with the NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, use this data to calculate catch and bycatch (unintentional catch) rates of fish and protected species interactions, and produce technical reports. Observers collect other data on the fishery to support research by fisheries scientists at the NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, aimed at understanding the basic biology of the species encountered, identifying factors that influence the bycatch rates of selected species, and determining the economic factors that affect fishing behavior.
The Pacific Islands Region Observer Program also supports the administration of the South Pacific Tuna Treaty. These activities include deploying Forum Fisheries Agency observers on U.S. purse seine vessels, sampling the catch from vessels landing at Pago Pago, American Samoa, distributing U.S. purse seine treaty data, being active members of various international observer groups, and cooperating with the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission and the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission.
Programs
Hawaiʻi Observer Program
In the late 1980s, the Hawaiʻi pelagic longline fishery, which primarily targets tunas and swordfish, rapidly expanded due, in part, to the relocation of U.S. longline vessels from the U.S. east coast and the Gulf of America (formerly Gulf of Mexico). This unprecedented and uncontrolled increase in fishing activity raised concerns about the impact of longline fishing on fish stocks, and potential competition with other Hawaiʻi fisheries that target the same fish. The early 1990s saw reports of Hawaiʻi longline fishery interactions with endangered Hawaiian monk seals and several species of sea turtles that were listed as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act.
Today, the pelagic longline fishery based in Hawaiʻi is a limited access fishery with a maximum cap of no more than 164 vessels and operates mainly in the Northern Central Pacific Ocean. This fishery is managed according to the Fishery Ecosystem Plan for the Pelagic Fisheries of the Western Pacific (FEP), developed by the Western Pacific Fishery Management Council and approved and implemented by NOAA Fisheries under the authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. To better understand and reduce impacts of this fishery on protected species, NOAA Fisheries implemented requirements for Federal longline fishing permits, logbooks, and the requirement to carry an observer, when directed by NOAA Fisheries. See Title 50 Code of Federal Regulations, Part 665, Subpart F for the complete set of requirements.
American Samoa Observer Program
The pelagic longline fishery based in American Samoa is also a limited access fishery. It has a maximum cap of no more than 60 vessels, primarily targeting albacore tuna that is processed at the local cannery. Like the Hawaiʻi longline fishery, the American Samoa longline fishery is managed under the Pelagics FEP and subject to permits, logbooks, and requirement to carry an observer. In April 2006, the program deployed its first observers on fishing trips departing from Pago Pago, American Samoa. Observer-collected data show that species diversity in American Samoa is similar to that documented in the Hawaiʻi program, with the addition of several South Pacific species that are unfamiliar to Hawaiʻi-trained observers.
American Samoa’s remote location limits at-sea rescue resources; therefore, when an observer is placed on a vessel, field staff in the American Samoa Observer Program conduct safety drills jointly with the vessel crew and the observer. In addition, the Observer Program supports American Samoa vessels in obtaining U.S. Coast Guard safety exam decals by coordinating certified safety drills, providing instruction, and assisting crews in correcting identified deficiencies.
In 1985, U.S. and foreign-flagged purse seine vessels began homeporting in Pago Pago. Today, these vessels continue to make ports of call in Pago Pago to offload fish at the local cannery. They are subject to permit, logbook and observer requirements under the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Convention Implementation Act. The American Samoa Observer Program field staff provide shore-side support, vessel observer placements, and issuance of safety gear and electronic reporting devices for the South Pacific Tuna Treaty purse seine observers in coordination with the Parties of the Nauru Agreement Observer Agency administered by Marine Resource Assessment Group (MRAG) Pacific. The field staff also supports and coordinates the transfer of data collected by cross-endorsed observers who fish in the Western Central Pacific Fisheries Convention Area and the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission Convention Area.
Further, the program assists the Pacific community with collection of biological samples and assists with tuna tagging efforts. The program also samples fish from vessels offloading in Pago Pago, providing one of the largest fisheries datasets. This is essential for effective tuna stock assessment and management throughout the Pacific.
