Hawaii FEP - Western Pacific Fishery Council

The State of Hawaii has been attempting to diversify its economy for many years. Industriesencouraged are science and technology, film and television production, sports, ocean researchand development, health and education tourism, diversified agriculture and floral and specialtyfood products. (DBEDT, 2006) However, these remain small percentage of the Hawaiicommercial economy.Bank of Hawaii summarized the recent general trends as of August, 2008. At midyear, 2008,Hawaii’s economic growth had slowed to a crawl due to higher oil prices, falling tourism, andfalling residential investment. The decrease in tourism is fueled by both decreased domesticdemand and a reduction in the number of trans-Pacific flights resulting from the shutdown ofAloha Airlines and ATA, which previously represented 15-20 percent of the available seats toHawaii. Hawaii’s unemployment rate rose to 3.5 percent in June 2008 on a seasonally-adjustedbasis, while job growth slowed to a few tenths of one percent, well below the rate necessary togenerate enough labor force absorption to prevent the unemployment rate from rising. Sincethen, Hawaii’s unemployment rate has continued to rise and as of September 2008, hit 4.5%.Honolulu’s inflation rate was 4.9 percent in first half 2008, up slightly from the 4.8 percent forall of 2007. While shelter costs began to moderate, energy costs rose significantly. Householdfuels and utilities costs rose 36.4 percent, year-over-year.The most recent estimate of the ex-vessel value of fish sold by the fisheries regulated by this FEPis $ 4.2 million. This amounts to a small percentage of Gross State Product, in fact, less than 1percent. On the other hand, the seafood industry is an important component of local and touristconsumption, and recreational and subsistence fishing represents a substantial proportion of thelocal population (estimated at 109,000 participants, 8.6% of Hawaii’s population). 15 Anadditional 41,000 tourists are also reported to go fishing while in Hawaii, and total fishingexpenditures (resident and tourist combined) were estimated at $125 million.The most recent estimate of the total economic contribution of the dermsal and pelagiccommercial, charter, and recreational fishing sectors to the state economy indicated that in1992, these sectors contributed $118.79 million of output (production) and $34.29 million ofhousehold income, employing 1,469 people (Sharma et al. 1999). These contributionsaccounted for 0.25 percent of total state output ($47.4 billion), 0.17 percent of householdincome ($20.2 billion), and 0.19 percent of employment (757,132 jobs). Recreational,subsistence and sport (e.g., charter) fisheries provide additional but unquantified economicbenefits in terms of angler satisfaction, protein sources, and tourism revenues.Although not a focus of this FEP, Hawaii’s pelagic fisheries are responsible for the largest shareof annual commercial landings and ex-vessel revenue, with 28.2 million pounds of pelagic fishlanded in 2005 at an ex-vessel value of $66.7 million. The domestic longline fishery for tuna,swordfish, and other pelagic species is the largest component of the fishery, landing 23 millionpounds in 2005 with an ex-vessel value of $58 million. Among the demersal fisheries,commercial harvests of CRE MUS dominate, with MHI and NWHI bottomfish relatively closebehind (Table 12). The remainder of Hawaii’s commercial fisheries are relatively small, with15 DBEDT, 2005. Table 7.56.87