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

AUGUST 2005 FINAL REPORT
Pounds (1000's)
1600
1400
1200
1000
800
600
400
200
0
Trolling Bottomfishing Spearfishing Other Methods
82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03
Years
Figure 4-1. Annual boat based total landings by fishing method on Guam. Source: PIFSC (2004).
• Hook-and-line gear is very basic and is used to catch large numbers of bigeye scad in the study
area during seasonal runs. Others species caught include snappers, groupers, jacks, and other
carnivorous fishes on the reef margin.
• Trolling is the most popular method of small boat fishing in the study area (Figure 4-1) and
consists of towing a lure or baited hook through the water to catch pelagic species that occur in
nearshore waters. Major species targeted include dolphinfish, wahoo, skipjack tuna, yellowfin
tuna, and Indo-Pacific blue marlin.
• Longlines are lines (variable length) with numerous baited hooks that are deployed (manually or
mechanically) in pelagic waters attached to floats. Longlines target pelagic species such as tuna,
dolphinfish, and marlin.
Total value of fisheries for the study area is represented separately by each island. Total pounds and
value of catch for Guam and the Northern Marianas Islands increased gradually until 2000, after which, it
declined (NMFS 2004e; Figures 4-2 and 4-3, respectively). Commercial fisheries of Guam recorded
approximately 2.5 million pounds of fish worth about 5.5 million dollars from 1999 through 2003 (average
of 500,000 lbs at ~ 1 million dollars/ year; Figure 4-2). The fisheries on CNMI landed over 2 million
pounds of fish (net worth of 5 million dollars) from 1999 through 2003 and averaged over 400,000 lbs
(approximately 1 million dollars per year; NMFS 2004e; Figure 4-3).
The pelagic fishery is dominant overall in terms of net landings and value (Figure 4-4). Pelagic species
have a net worth of approximately $400,000 in Guam and over $400,000 in CNMI (NMFS 2004d). In
terms of pounds landed in the Marianas MRA study area, the reef fish fishery ranks second and
bottomfish third (Figure 4-4). Annual boat based landings are not available for CNMI. The domestic
commercial fisheries in Guam and the Northern Marianas are relatively small; Guam offers an important
location for trans-shipment and processing for the U.S. distant-water purse seine fishery, as well as for
foreign purse seine and longline fisheries (NMFS 1996).
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