PIFSC report on the logbook program for the American Samoa longline fishery, April-June 2013

"The American Samoa longline fishery continues to experience challenging conditions. Catch of the primary target species, albacore tuna has remained at a fairly low level in comparison with long term averages. Catches of many other marketable species were also relatively low during the second quarter of 2013, as they were throughout 2012. However, increasing catches of low-volume-higher-priced species, yellowfin tuna and wahoo, may indicate an adaptation of the fishery to supply local demand through local fresh-fish markets. Table 1 provides a summary of the fishery's catch and effort statistics for the second quarter of 2013, based on date of haul. The table was derived from all logbook data submitted to the American Samoa Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources by the second quarter posting date (September 25, 2013). We believe the data in Table 1 include 100% of the sets made during the second quarter. Only large (>50 ft in length) longline vessels participated in the fishery"--Page 1. [doi:10.7289/V55M63PB (http://dx.doi.org/10.7289/V55M63PB)] Fisheries Research and Monitoring Division, Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center. "Issued 11 April 2014." doi:10.7289/V55M63PB (http://dx.doi.org/10.7289/V55M63PB) System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. 2014 NMFS (National Marine Fisheries Service) PIFSC (Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center) CoRIS (Coral Reef Information System) Library http://doi.org/10.7289/V55M63PB Public Domain 1930