Hawaii FEP - Western Pacific Fishery Council

• Dall’s porpoise (Phocoenoides dalli)• Fraser’s dolphin (Lagenodelphis hosei)• Risso’s dolphin (Grampus griseus)• Rough-toothed dolphin (Steno bredanensis)• Spinner dolphin (Stenella longirostris)• Spotted dolphin (Stenella attenuata)• Striped dolphin (Stenella coeruleoalba)The species listed above may be found in Federal waters around the Hawaii Archipelago andcould interact with Federal precious coral fisheries; however, no reported or observed incidentaltakes of these species have occurred in these fisheries and NMFS has concluded that the HawaiiArchipelago commercial precious corals fisheries will not affect marine mammals in any mannernot considered or authorized under the Marine Mammal Protection Act.4.4.3 Status of Precious Corals FisheryTo date Hawaii’s precious corals fishery has not been determined to be overfished or subject tooverfishing. Several conservation and management measures have been recently recommendedby the Council and implemented by NMFS in response to biological concerns.The first measure was in response to the presence of an invasive soft coral Carijoa riisei orsnowflake coral, on black coral, as well as an observed decline in black coral biomass inHawaii’s Auau Channel. Research revealed that the biomass of the Auau Channel black coralpopulation had decreased by at least 25 percent in the last 30 years. Data collected in late 2001during Pisces V dives showed a decline in recruitment, as well as a decrease in the relativeabundance of legal sized colonies. The decline in recruitment may be related to an increase inabundance of Carijoa riisei. This highly invasive soft coral was found to be overgrowing largeareas of black coral habitat particularly in deep water between 80-110 meters. Harvests ofshallower populations have also been increasing, additionally stressing these populations. As ofNovember 2007, all black coral harvested from waters of the Hawaii Archipelago must haveeither a one inch base diameter or a 48 inch height and a limited exemption from the sizerequirement was revoked to allow for a longer period of recruitment of black corals in the AuauChannel.The second measure was in response to a recent study indicating that the growth rate of goldcoral may be far lower than that previously believed. The best available data on gold coral citedin the current Precious Corals FMP indicates that the linear growth rate of gold coral isapproximately 6.6 centimeters per year, suggesting a relatively young age for large trees. Theseestimates are based on the assumption that growth rings are laid down annually as in otherprecious corals such as black coral and pink coral (Corallium rubrum and C. secundum). Recentresearch done on the aging of gold corals using radiometric dating on three samples collectedfrom the Makapuu Bed and off of the island of Hawaii found that gold coral may grow at a muchslower rate of 0.004 to 0.0014 cmper year aging those samples at 450-2,740 years old (Roark etal. 2006). Research conducted on Gerardia species in the Atlantic have estimated the age oflarge gold coral trees to be 1,800 years old (Druffel et al. 1995).116