International workshop on developing strategies for monitoring data-limited deepwater demersal line fisheries in the Pacific Ocean

Abstract

Deepwater demersal line fisheries occur within all ocean basins and are typically focused upon seamounts, reef slopes and deep reefs. In tropical and subtropical regions, most are small-scale artisanal and subsistence fisheries with snappers (Lutjanidae) being the dominant group caught, followed by groupers (Epinephelidae) and emperors (Lethrinidae). Although harvest levels are low relative to industrial scale fisheries, most deepwater species are vulnerable to fisheries impacts (Cheung et al. 2007) as many species are long-lived, slow growing and mature late in life (Fry et al. 2006; McClanahan and Hicks 2011; Kalish et al. in press). Assessing the status of deepwater stocks is becoming a greater priority for fisheries managers in the Pacific Islands region, although the spatial and social complexity in these fisheries makes it difficult to obtain basic catch and effort data needed for sustainable fisheries management. In the Pacific Islands region, deepwater fish have been exploited on a subsistence basis for many generations (Dalzell and Preston 1992). Development of small-scale commercial deepwater fisheries in the south Pacific region commenced during the 1970s, mainly to reduce pressure on shallow inshore reef fish populations (Dalzell and Preston 1992) and to establish new export opportunities. Over time, fisheries for deepwater species became established in Tonga, Fiji, New Caledonia, French Polynesia, Guam, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea (PNG) and American and Western Samoa (Dalzell and Adams 1994). However, by the early 1990s, only Tonga, and, to a lesser extent, both Samoas and Fiji, had maintained significant effort in their respective deepwater fisheries. More recent efforts to develop the fisheries in PNG and the Solomon Islands were also not sustained. In some Pacific Island Countries and Territories (PICTs) moves to license larger commercial vessels has driven demand for improved information on which to base stock assessments and management decisions. A. J. Williams (&) S. J. Nicol P. G. Williams F. Magron G. M. Pilling I. Bertram M. Batty Secretariat of the Pacific Community, BPD5-98848, Noumea, New Caledonia e-mail: ashleyw@spc.int