JIMAR Scientists Report on Status of Hawaii Tuna Tagging Project

At a meeting of the Western Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) recently concluded in Vanuatu in August 2009, scientists from the Joint Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research (JIMAR) at the University of Hawaii reported on the status of the Hawaii Tuna Tagging Project 2 (HTTP2) – an initiative designed to provide updated information on the ecology, behavior, and movement of commercially important tuna species. This project will use a combination of conventional, acoustic, internal archival and popup archival tags to investigate the movement, exploitation, and behavior of skipjack, bigeye, and yellowfin tuna. The HTTP2 has been designed to address fishery issues of direct relevance to Hawaii and the central Pacific. However, the project has also been developed as an integrated component of the WCPFC-endorsed Pacific Tuna Tagging Project being implemented by the Secretariat of the Pacific Community. Common tag release and recapture techniques will be used by both programs with arrangements in place for integrated data storage and analysis.

Background: JIMAR’s Pelagic Fisheries Research Program (PFRP) has funded a number of tuna tagging projects to provide information useful for the management of pelagic resources in the central and western Pacific region. In order to update movement and life history parameters of tuna important to Hawaii, the PFRP initiated HTTP2.

Significance: Tuna stocks throughout the western, central, and south Pacific are a crucial component of the pelagic ecosystem and are critical sources of employment, revenue and high quality food. Intense fishing pressure has resulted in regional depletion of some species, and scientists have stressed the need for strong management actions on bigeye and yellowfin tuna for some years. In the absence of detailed movement and stock structure information, yellowfin, bigeye, and skipjack tuna in the Pacific are treated as continuous, basin-wide stocks. Fisheries managers need more detailed information on these species, which can be obtained via regional and large-scale tagging programs. Data gathered from these tagging programs enable managers to better understand movement, capture rates, natural mortality, growth, and other ecological and behavioral characteristics.

JIMAR is a NOAA Cooperative Institute at the University of Hawaii. JIMAR conducts collaborative research with NOAA in equatorial oceanography, tsunamis, climate, tropical meteorology, fisheries oceanography, and coastal processes. JIMAR receives funding primarily from NOAA Research and NOAA Fisheries. This research supports NOAA Mission Goal 1 - Protect, Restore, and Manage the Use of Coastal and Ocean Resources.