Hawaii FEP - Western Pacific Fishery Council

maneuverable tools to harvest individual colonies, chosen by size and quality prior to cutting, ina highly controlled and efficient manner (Carleton 1987).Between 1990 and 1997, the annual harvest of black coral in Hawaii varied from a low of 864pounds to a high of 6,017 pounds, with a yearly average of 3,084 pounds (Table 16). Landingsand ex-vessel revenues of the black corals recently harvested in Hawaii cannot be presented dueto the low number of active harvesting operations (less than three); however, current preciouscoral harvest is below MSY. There is no known recreational component to this fishery.Table 16: Volume and Value of Black Coral Landings in Hawaii 1990-1997Source: Hawaii Division of Aquatic ResourcesYear19901991199219931994199519961997Harvested (lb)Sold(lb)Value($)2,349 2,169 31,5752,305 2,250 35,0802,398 2,328 46,560864 769 15,3804,354 4,209 84,1806,017 5,912 122,7654,865 1,703 41,3251,520 415 10,3944.4.2 Review of BycatchBecause the Precious Corals FMP allows harvest only by selective gear (i.e., with submersiblesor by hand), Federal precious coral fisheries in Hawaii have no bycatch.Protected Species InteractionsThere have been no reported or observed interactions between marine mammals and Federalprecious corals fisheries in the region. The potential impacts on the Hawaiian monk seal arediscussed below. There could be some impact on marine mammals from routine fishing vesseloperations (e.g., behavioral or physiological reactions to noise, collisions, or releases ofpollutants), however such impacts would be extremely rare and therefore constitute a low-levelrisk to marine mammals. With implementation of this FEP, this extremely low-level risk tomarine mammals would remain.Monk seals have been observed diving to depths where gold corals and other deep-waterorganisms occur (> 100 m); however there is no evidence that any precious corals are important114