North Pacific Swordfish

Because swordfish travel thousands of miles across international boundaries and are fished by many nations, they are managed through a combination of international cooperation and domestic regulations. 

International Management 

In the Pacific, there are two international bodies—known as Regional Fishery Management Organizations or RFMOs—that manage swordfish and other highly migratory species: 

• Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission
• Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission

The science provider to these RFMOs is the International Scientific Committee for Tuna and Tuna-like Species in the North Pacific Ocean which conducts periodic stock assessments. 

Working with the U.S. Department of State, NOAA Fisheries domestically implements the IATTC and WCPFC conservation and management measures.

Domestic Management

In addition to working with international partners, NOAA Fisheries works with domestic regional fishery management councils that manage Pacific swordfish fisheries within U.S. waters. These councils implement management plans that reflect both international agreements and fishery conditions in U.S. waters:

• Pacific Fishery Management Council (California, Oregon, and Washington)
• Western Pacific Fishery Management Council (Hawaii and the U.S. Pacific Islands)

West Coast

Along the U.S. West Coast, North Pacific swordfish are managed by NOAA Fisheries and the Pacific Fishery Management Council under the Fishery Management Plan for U.S. West Coast Fisheries for Highly Migratory Species. Requirements include:

• Fishermen are required to have permits and to record catch in logbooks.
• Longline, drift gillnet, and deep-set buoy gear fishing boats are required to carry observers when requested.
• Gear restrictions and operational requirements to minimize bycatch:
  • Mitigation techniques (e.g., use of line shooters, incentives to use circle hooks, blue-dyed bait) to minimize seabird interactions and injury to seabirds and protected species.
  • Protected species handling and release protocols to minimize injury and increase the chance of survival, if and when interactions occur.
  • Drift gillnet vessels are required to use pingers, an acoustic device intended to deter marine mammals. These vessels are also required to use net extenders, which sink the gillnet deeper to avoid interactions with sea turtles, marine mammals, and seabirds. This fishery also uses time-area closures to avoid interactions with leatherback and loggerhead sea turtles.
  • Deep-set buoy gear vessels are required to actively tend their gear, meaning that the vessel must stay within five nautical miles of all pieces of gear while deployed. These vessels are also required to use strike detection buoys, to mitigate long time periods between strike and retrieval. Additionally, no more than 10 pieces of gear may be deployed concurrently, with no more than three hooks per piece of gear.
• The Driftnet Modernization and Bycatch Reduction Act enacted in December of 2022 calls for the phase-out of drift gillnet fishing and establishment of alternative fishing practices that minimize incidental catch of non-target species.
• Longline fishing is prohibited within 200 miles of the U.S. West Coast, unless such fishing practices are approved for exploratory fishing.
• Longline fishing regulations vary by gear type (shallow-set, deep-set, etc.) and fishing area (eastern Pacific, high seas, etc.).
• Training in safe handling and release techniques for protected species is required.
• NOAA Fisheries issues permits for exploratory fishing practices on a case-by-case basis for collection of data to inform future management decisions, e.g., development of measures to promote economic viability of the West Coast swordfish fishery while minimizing bycatch and incidental catch of protected and unmarketable species.

Pacific Islands

In the U.S. Pacific Islands, North Pacific swordfish are managed by NOAA Fisheries and the Western Pacific Fishery Management Council under the Fishery Ecosystem Plan for the Pelagic Fisheries of the Western Pacific. Requirements include:

• Fishermen are required to have permits and to record catch in logbooks.
• A limit on the number of permits for Hawaii and American Samoa longline fisheries controls participation in the fishery.
• Gear restrictions and operational requirements to minimize bycatch:
  • Circle hooks, hook size requirements, and finfish bait (as opposed to squid bait) reduce the number of sea turtles caught and cause less injury to sea turtles that are hooked.
  • Protected species handling and release protocols that minimize further injury and increase the chance of survival.
  • Annual limits on the number of leatherback sea turtles that can be caught in the Hawaii longline fishery. If the limit is reached, the fishery is closed for the rest of the year.
  • Limits on the number of interactions with leatherback and loggerhead sea turtles during a trip. If either limit is reached, the vessel must stop fishing and return to port.
  • Gear restrictions and mitigation techniques (e.g., tori lines and setting at night) to minimize seabird interactions and injury to seabirds.
  • Floatline length requirements for deep-set gear to ensure gear depth which reduces interactions with sea turtles, marine mammals, and seabirds.
  • Prohibition on the use of wire leaders to facilitate the release of sharks and other protected species and increase their chance of survival.
  • Annual training in safe handling and release techniques for protected species is required, and all vessels must carry and use specific equipment for handling and releasing these animals.
  • Swordfish limits for Hawaii deep-set longline vessels that are fishing for tuna and do not have an observer on board.
• Longline fishing is prohibited in some areas to protect endangered Hawaiian monk seals and to reduce conflicts between fishermen. These areas are enforced through the NOAA Fisheries vessel monitoring system program (longline boats must be equipped with a satellite transponder that provides real-time position updates and tracks vessel movements).
• Hawaii-based longline vessels must carry onboard observers when requested by NOAA Fisheries, in part to record interactions with sea turtles, seabirds, marine mammals, sharks, and rays.

A full summary of the requirements can be found in the Hawaii Pelagic Longline Regulation Summary and the American Samoa Pelagic Longline Regulation Summary.