Marine Resources Assessment for the Marianas Operating ... - SPREP

AUGUST 2005 FINAL REPORT
EFH Designations—(WPRFMC 2001; Figures D-13, D-17, and D-21; Table 4-5)
Eggs, Larvae, and Juvenile―The water column from the shoreline to the outer boundary of
the EEZ to a depth of 100 m.
Adult―All rocky and coral bottom habitat and the adjacent water column from 0 to 27 m.
♦ Labridae (Wrasses)
Status—Twenty of the 22 species of the family Labridae that are managed in Micronesia as part of
the CHCRT by the WPRFMC (2001) and occur in CNMI and Guam (Amesbury and Myers 2001;
Myers and Donaldson 2003). All 20 species have EFH designated within the boundaries of the study
area (WPRFMC 2001; NMFS 2004c). In addition, the remaining 65 wrasse species found in the study
area have designated EFH under the PHCRT (WPRFMC 2001). Currently, no data are available to
determine if wrasses of the CHCRT are approaching an overfished situation (NMFS 2004a). Very
little information exists on the commercial harvest of labrids in Guam or the Northern Marianas.
However, wrasses make up a small percentage of the commercial fish trade in numbers, value, and
weight for both areas (WPRFMC 2001).
One species of wrasse found in the study area, Cheilinus undulatus (humphead wrasse), is listed by
the IUCN Red List as “Endangered” (IUCN 2004). The humphead wrasse was also listed as a
“Species of Concern” by the NOAA Fisheries Office of Protected Resources in 2004 (NMFS 2004d).
According to IUCN, a taxon is “Endangered” when the best available evidence indicates: (1) an
observed, estimated, inferred, or suspected population size reduction of ≥50% over the last 10 years
or three generations, whichever is longer, where the reduction or its causes may not have ceased,
may not be understood, or may not be reversible; and (2) a population size reduction of ≥50%,
projected or suspected to be met within the next 10 years or three generations, whichever is longer
(up to a maximum of 100 years), based on the index of abundance appropriate to the taxon and
actual or potential levels of exploitation (Cornish et al. 2004). The humphead wrasse was once an
economically important reef fish in Guam but is rarely seen around reefs or reported in inshore survey
catch results (WPRFMC 2001). Factors influencing the decline of this species include: (1) intensive
and species-specific removal in the live reef food-fish trade, (2) spearfishing at night using SCUBA
gear, (3) lack of coordinated, consistent national and regional management, (4) illegal, unregulated,
or unreported fisheries, and (5) loss of habitat (NMFS 2004d).
Distribution—Wrasses are found in shallow tropical and temperate seas of the Atlantic, Indian, and
Pacific Oceans (Froese and Pauly 2004). This species is distributed throughout the shallow areas of
the western Pacific (WPRFMC 2001). The humphead wrasse can be found in the Indo-Pacific region
from the Red Sea in the west to the Tuamotus in the east, and from the Ryukyus in the north,
including China and Chinese Taipei, east to Wake Island, south to New Caledonia, and throughout
Micronesia (Myers 1999).
Habitat Preferences—Labrids prefer shallow-waters closely associated with coral reefs (WPRFMC
2001). They inhabit steep outer reef slopes, channel slopes, and lagoon reefs. Wrasses can be found
in virtually every habitat on tropical reefs, including rubble, sand, algae, seaweeds, rocks, flats,
tidepools, crevices, caves, fringing reefs, and patch reefs (Allen and Steene 1987; WPRFMC 2001).
Most wrasses are found in relatively calm waters between about 3 and 20 m, however, some species
occur at depths greater than 200 m (Allen and Steene 1987; WPRFMC 2001). Adults roam the coral
reefs during the day keeping close to coral or rocky cover (Froese and Pauly 2004). At night, they
may rest in caves or under coral ledges, bury themselves in the sand, or lie motionless on the bottom
(WPRFMC 2001; Froese and Pauly 2004). Labrid eggs and larvae are pelagic and are routinely found
in the open ocean (WPRFMC 2001). Juveniles, like adults, inhabit a wide range of habitats from
shallow lagoons to deep reef slopes (WPRFMC 2001).
Humphead wrasses occur along steep outer reef slopes, channel slopes, and occasionally on lagoon
reefs, at depths from 1 to 60 m (WPRFMC 2001; Froese and Pauly 2004). Adults are usually solitary
and can be found roaming the coral reefs by day and resting in reef caves and under coral ledges at
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