Limits on swordfish longliners advised

By Vicki Viotti
Advertiser Staff Writer

A fisheries management group has recommended restarting the longline swordfish industry in the Western Pacific, with limits to protect the endangered turtles that can be snagged on fishing hooks.

Although the group and federal officials must hammer out rules, yesterday's action is likely to end a three-year ban on swordfish fishing by April 1.

The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council — a group made up of government and industry representatives from Hawai'i, American Samoa, Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands — advises the National Marine Fisheries Service, which must write the final regulations.

The fisheries agency is working on an environmental impact statement on the proposal, which will go to public hearings early next year.

Fishermen pleased by the action include Minh Dang, whose boats brought in swordfish before the ban. Dang said he believes using new baits and hooks that do not draw turtles will help safeguard dwindling populations of species such as leatherback and loggerhead turtles.

"We try different methods, different bait," Dang said. "It's good for everybody, for the whole fleet."

Attorney Paul Atchitoff is not convinced it's good for the endangered turtles. Atchitoff works for Earthjustice, the nonprofit environmental law firm that has opposed the longline swordfish industry.

The proposal adopted by the council was developed by the Hawai'i Longline Association, a fishing industry group, as something fishermen can live with, said association president and council member Sean Martin.

But Atchitoff, contacted after the meeting, said ending the ban "isn't an issue that's subject to compromise."

"It's not a negotiation," he said. "It's a question of whether or not this proposal will jeopardize the turtle population and violate the Endangered Species Act. And I believe it will."

Under the proposal, the Western Pacific fishing industry would be allotted 2,120 "sets" of swordfish every year, each amounting basically to a day's catch.

Fishing would be halted when the number of turtles snared reached a certain ceiling, to be set by the fisheries service.

The council decided yesterday to support some rules, including requirements to use special "circle" hooks that snag far fewer turtles.

The task of recommending exactly how the allotted catch is to be distributed among fishermen has been delegated to a working group that will report in a few weeks. The fisheries service must compile its regulations for public review by Dec. 17, said Sam Pooley, acting regional administrator for the National Marine Fisheries Service in Honolulu.

Some experts cited practical difficulties with the proposal, especially the requirement for hard limits on the numbers of turtles affected. Jeff Polovina, acting director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration science center, said it would be hard for an inspector to know when the limit was reached.

"I would hate to be that observer who calls the very last turtle, shutting down the fishery for the season," he said. "It would be a rough ride back for them."

But Martin said keeping the limit firm would serve as an incentive for improved fishing techniques.

"The onus is on the fishery itself to do better," he said. "We have the hope that one day the turtle population will be greater than it is."

But Atchitoff said further threats to the species' survival seems inevitable. If the final regulations don't provide adequate protections, he said, there may be further litigation. Earthjustice last week sued the fisheries service, claiming it had failed to protect false killer whales from longline fishing.

"If they get sued enough, they may start making their decisions based on science," he said.

Reach Vicki Viotti at vviotti@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8053.

Correction: Sean Martin's last name was incorrectly stated in a previous version of this story.