Assessment of Incidental Interactions with Marine Mammals in the Hawaii Longline Deep and Shallow Set Fisheries from 2006 through 2010 1

Abstract

Table 1 provides a list of all cetacean species for which an interaction with the fishery has been recorded by the observer program from 1994-present. The report provides the estimated total number of interactions in the deep set fishery (Tables 2 through 6) and the observed total number of interactions in the shallow set fishery (Tables 10 through 12) for each year during 2006-2010 and average annual interactions over the five year period. As there is 100% observer coverage of the shallow set fleet, the number of interactions is provided by a summation of the observed interactions, rather than by an estimate. Numbers are provided by species and geographical region for both total interactions and interactions resulting in death or a serious injury (DSI). The regions are (1) within the Hawaiian Islands Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), (2) within the EEZ of Palmyra Atoll, (3) within the combined EEZs of Johnston Atoll, Baker Island, Howland Island, and Jarvis Island, and (4) outside the U.S. EEZ. No marine mammal interactions with the shallow set fishery were observed in the EEZs of Palmyra Atoll, Johnston Atoll, Baker and Howland Islands, or Jarvis Island during years 2006 through 2010; hence, no tables are provided for shallow set interactions in these regions. A proportion of the estimated number of ‘blackfish’ (unidentified whales considered to be either false killer whales or short-finned pilot whales) is added to the estimates of identified false killer whale and short-finned pilot whale in Tables 7 and 13. In the case of false killer whales, estimates of interactions and DSI within the Hawaiian Islands EEZ are further partitioned into two putative stocks (Carretta et al. 2009), the insular stock and the pelagic stock (Table 8 and Table 14).