Hawaii FEP - Western Pacific Fishery Council

Seine nets are actively deployed around schools of fish, as opposed to gillnets, which—like fishtraps—are a passive gear. Beach seines, as the name implies, are set in an arc from the beach.Both wings are drawn together on the beach and hauled to concentrate the fish in the head of thenet, from where they can be bucketed ashore. Seine nets can also be used for drive-in-net, ormuro-ami, fishing. A barrier net is set in the lagoon or on a reef, and fish are driven with scarelines into the apex of the net, which is then closed to catch the fish. The amount of bycatch fromthis type of fishing depends on whether people are largely urbanized and used to eating a narrowrange of reef fish or whether they mainly rely on fishing for subsistence and eat a broader rangeof fish. Barrier nest are also used in combination with scoop nets to harvest aquarium fish innearshore waters.Surround seines can also be set on open schools in a lagoon in the same manner as a beach seine.This fishing method is employed in Hawaii to catch schools of big-eye scad or akule, which arelocated by spotting from light aircraft. This method of fishing is extremely selective; discardresults when not all the captured school is kept and excess fish are released. In such cases, therelease of fish is commendable because they are not wasted as dead bycatch.The State of Hawaii regulates the use of seine nets with the same regulations as are in place forgillnets.Lastly, cast or throw nets are also common in parts of the Pacific, where fishermen want to makemodest catches, usually of small nearshore schooling reef species. These catches are takenmainly for subsistence, and fishermen will select and stalk on foot schools of fish such assurgeonfish, herrings, rabbitfish, and mullets in the hope of obtaining a catch (Dalzell et al.1996). As with spearfishing, there is a high degree of selectivity in the target catch, so bycatch isnegligible.Protected Species InteractionsThere have been no reported or observed interactions between protected species and coral reeffisheries in Federal waters around the Hawaii Archipelago. There is some potential forinteractions between monk seals and sea turtles and the coral reef fishery in waters around theHawaii Archipelago. For example, two monk seal deaths occurred in State waters, after Statelaws were violoated, due to entanglement in gill nets during 2006-2007 19 . It is surmised thatthese mortalities were a result of gillnets being left unchecked for extended periods of time suchas overnight. Under this FEP allowable gear types in Federal waters include: (1) hand harvest;(2) spear; (3) slurp gun; (4) hand/dip net; (5) hoop net for Kona crab; (6) throw net; (7) barriernet; (8) surround/purse net that is attended at all times; (9) hook-and-line (powered andunpowered handlines, rod and reel, and trolling); (10) crab and fish traps; and (11) remoteoperating vehicles/submersibles. These allowable gear types are not left unattended whichgreatly minimizes the potential for any lethal interactions. In addition, some anecdotalinformation exists indicating that some monk seal hookings may have occurred in near shorecoral reef fisheries.19 http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2007/Jun/07/br/br4325609817.html126