The Commercial, Subsistence, and Recreational Fisheries of American Samoa

Domestic fisheries in American Samoa landed 587,000 lb of fish and invertebrates in 1991 worth $993,000. Most of the catch (78%) and value (80%) was taken by the shoreline subsistence fishery that occurs on the coral reefs surrounding the islands. Artisanal fisheries for offshore pelagic fishes (primarily skipjack tuna, Katsuwonus pelamis; and yellowfin tuna, Thunnus albacares) and bottomfishes (snappers, emperors, groupers) accounted for 16% and 3%, respectively, of the domestic catch. Recreational tournament catches for pelagic fishes represented the remainder (3%). While sportfishing is becoming increasingly important, other domestic fisheries have declined in recent years. The shoreline subsistence fishery has dropped by about 25% over the past decade owing to socioeconomic factors and possibly overexploitation. Artisanal fisheries have also declined precipitously in recent years owing to hurricane-related damages, attrition of fishermen, and competition with imports. Artisanal fisheries show some potential for growth, but may be constrained by marketing issues, vessel capabilities, and limited stock sizes (for bottomfish) or local availability of high-value (pelagic) fishes. In contrast to the small-scale domestic fisheries, American Samoa is also homeport to a distant-water fleet of large purse seiners and longliners that fish beyond the EEZ and deliver about 160,000-220,000 short tons of tuna per year to local canneries.

PICES Press, Vol. 16, No. 1, January 2008

◾PICES Science in 2007 (pdf, 0.1 Mb) ◾2007 Wooster Award (pdf, 0.1 Mb) ◾FUTURE - A milestone reached but our task is not done (pdf, < 0.1 Mb) ◾International symposium on "Reproductive and Recruitment Processes of Exploited Marine Fish Stocks" (pdf, 0.1 Mb) ◾Recent results of the micronekton sampling inter-calibration experiment (pdf, 0.1 Mb) ◾2007 PICES workshop on "Measuring and monitoring primary productivity in the North Pacific" (pdf, 0.1 Mb) ◾2007 Harmful Algal Bloom Section annual workshop events (pdf, 0.1 Mb) ◾A global approach for recovery and sustainability of marine resources in Large Marine Ecosystems (pdf, 0.3 Mb) ◾Highlights of the PICES Sixteenth Annual Meeting (pdf, 0.4 Mb) ◾Ocean acidification of the North Pacific Ocean (pdf, 0.3 Mb) ◾Workshop on NE Pacific Coastal Ecosystems (2008 Call for Salmon Survival Forecasts) (pdf, 0.1 Mb) ◾The state of the western North Pacific in the first half of 2007 (pdf, 0.4 Mb) ◾PICES Calendar (pdf, 0.4 Mb) ◾The Bering Sea: Current status and recent events (pdf, 0.3 Mb) ◾PICES Interns (pdf, 0.3 Mb) ◾Recent trends in waters of the subarctic NE Pacific (pdf, 0.3 Mb) ◾Election results at PICES (pdf, 0.2 Mb) ◾A new PICES award for monitoring and data management activities (pdf, < 0.1 Mb)

Cruise report: regional assessment of ecosystem condition and stressor impacts along the northwestern Gulf of Mexico Shelf. NOAA Ship 'Nancy Foster' NF-11-07-RACOW (August 8-16, 2011)

This cruise report is a summary of a field survey conducted along a portion of the U.S. continental shelf in northwestern Gulf of Mexico (GOM), at navigable depths along the coastline seaward to the shelf break (~100m) from about 89°30' W to 95°28' W longitude, August 8 – 16, 2011 on NOAA Ship Nancy Foster Cruise NF-11-07-RACOW. Synoptic sampling of multiple ecological indicators was conducted at each of 34 stations throughout these waters using a random probabilistic sampling design. The original study design consisted of 50 stations extending from the Mississippi delta all the way to the U.S./Mexican border, but vessel failures precluded sampling at 16 stations within the western-most portion of the study area. At each station samples were collected for the analysis of benthic community structure and composition; concentrations of chemical contaminants in sediments and target demersal biota; sediment toxicity; nutrient and chlorophyll levels in the water column; and other basic habitat characteristics such as salinity, temperature, dissolved oxygen, turbidity, pH, sediment grain size, and organic carbon content. Other indicators, from a human-dimension perspective, were also recorded, including presence of vessels, oil rigs, surface trash, visual oil sheens in sediments or water, marine mammals, or noxious/oily sediment odors. The overall purpose of the survey was to collect data to assess the status of ecosystem condition and potential stressor impacts throughout the region, based on these various indicators and corresponding management thresholds, and to provide this information as a baseline for determining how such conditions may be changing with time. While sample analysis is still ongoing, some preliminary results and observations are reported here. A final report will be completed once all data have been processed.

Maturity and spawning of Otolithus argenteus (Cuvier) from Karwar waters

The present paper deals in the maturity stages, ova diameter and spawning season, of Otolithus argenteus from Karwar waters. The seven stages of maturity were determined based on the macroscopic appearance and microscopic study of intra ovarian eggs. The average size at first maturity was found to be 160 mm. The diameter of ova varies from 0.01 to 0.82 mm. with various modes, indicating the nature and the frequency of spawning.