Researchers are launching a new tagging program for ahi in West Hawaii that will help them better understand the patterns of this highly migratory and elusive fish.
With the help of area fishermen, the $4,000 devices will be tagged into five ahi that are 70 pounds or larger this winter. Designed to read water temperature and depth and to transmit location to a satellite, the tags will help researchers understand how fish behave and how environmental factors may influence their ways.
The research is a collaboration of Pacific Islands Fisheries Group, West Hawaii fishermen and the Large Pelagics Research Center, and is sponsored by the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council. The project was unveiled at a gathering of fishermen, researchers and fishery council staff at the West Hawaii Civic Center on Friday evening.
Atlantic bluefin tuna expert Molly Lutcavage, with the Large Pelagics Research Center, used tagging to confirm that bluefin range far across the Atlantic and return to the same 100-mile area where they were tagged.
“This is what we can do here working with fishermen,” Lutcavage said.
A similar tagging project, started on Kauai this past summer, showed ahi traveling far south of the Big Island, then returning north past Kauai. In the interim, the fish dove frequently to depths exceeding 900 feet.
The tags are designed to track a year’s worth of activity and have a $500 bounty to the fishermen who turn them in to the Pacific Islands Fisheries Group. The tags contain more information than can be transmitted to satellite.
Kona fishermen and the council are also collaborating on a device to attract fish, set to be deployed in the next couple of weeks about 20 miles off of Kealakekua Bay. Numerous fish species congregate around the anchored floats, essentially creating offshore fishing holes. The fish aggregation device is designed to increase fishing opportunities and aid in data collection and research, said Eric Kingma, a coordinator with the fishery management council.
“It reduces the searching for fish. It reduces your fuel bill,” Kingma said.
The placement of the anchored 12-foot long skiff and GPS beacon is strategic, said Kailua-Kona charter captain McGrew Rice, who is a member of the council.
“It’s central. There were a few illegal (fish aggregation devices) put out there that worked pretty well,” he said. “It’s a proven area.”
Fishermen who take fish from around the fish aggregation device are asked to fill out a voluntary catch reporting form that will be made available at sporting goods stores. Researchers want to know what species and sizes of fish are gathering around the float and the amount of fishing effort in that area. The information is kept confidential, Kingma said.
Hawaii fishermen got other good news Friday. The state’s longline fleet can now contract with the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands for a portion of its ahi quota. The additional fish will help head off shortages of sashimi during the New Year’s holiday, according to a press release from the office of U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration approved the new rule this week. Schatz pressed for the provision that allows the unused portion of the Marianas quota to be combined with Hawaii’s, which usually runs out in November.
“For many years, the threat of a shortage during the holidays has caused higher prices for families and less productivity for our fishermen,” Schatz said in a statement. “That’s why I am so pleased we were able to work with both NOAA and the Hawaii longliners … ensuring families won’t experience any shortage of sashimi when ringing in the New Year.”
