Abstract
Bonefishes in Hawai’i have had a cultural and subsistence importance since the early Hawaiians harvested and raised them. Today, the recreational fishery for bonefishes in Hawai’i continues to expand while the commercial fishery has witnessed a 99 % decline in landings over the past century. The ‘Ō‛io Tagging Project arose with a consensus that collecting biological and fisheries data on bonefishes is essential for properly managed resources, but engaging and disseminating this knowledge back to resource users is equally as important. Since 2003, 770 anglers have recorded >10,600 fishing hours, while tagging 3420 and recapturing 67 bonefishes. Tagged bonefishes exhibited extremely high site fidelity, with the majority recaptured <1 km from their original tagging location. Growth parameter estimates derived from recapture data yields K = 0.104 and L∞ = 30.17. Length frequency distributions from catch curve analysis indicated a total mortality rate of Z = 0.643. Natural mortality was calculated as M = 0.046–0.058 and fishing mortality (F) was then estimated as 0.597–0.585. There are two species of bonefishes in Hawai’i. The round jaws (Albula glossodonta) comprise 88 % of all tagged bonefishes and are larger, on average, by 5.9 cm compared to the sharp jaws (A. virgata). Through the ‘Ō‛io Tagging Project, anglers are empowered to contribute to sound science and be part of the scientific process, which has increased their interest in providing management solutions to ensure the long-term sustainability of this valuable resource.
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Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank the Harold L. Castle Foundation, The University of Hawai’i SeaGrant Program, Bruce Anderson, Richard Gushman, and The Nature Conservancy Hawai’i for their generous support of this research. This project was made possible by the fisherman who participated in the ‘Ō‛io Tagging Project, and those who donated samples at local fishing events. We would like to specially thank Matt Ramsey from the NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center for his help in forming collaborations with local fishermen and obtaining samples. We thank Joey Lecky for his assistance in producing the map in Fig. 3.
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Kamikawa, K.T., Friedlander, A.M., Harding, K.K. et al. Bonefishes in Hawai’i and the importance of angler-based data to inform fisheries management. Environ Biol Fish 98, 2147–2157 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-015-0421-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-015-0421-5