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Home My WebLink AboutCOM 0862.072 2008-2010 R s gypy � w� a • IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIililllllllllllillllllllllllllllllllillllllllllllllllllllllllllilllillllllillllllllllllllllilllllllllll Part 6 in a series about inshore fish of Hawaii. The 1 2-part series is a project of the Hawaii Fisheries Local Action Strategy. AS FISHING N INCREASES, YELLOW TANGS FLOURISH. WHAT GIVES? BY SCOTT RADWAY THIS IS EXACTLY HOW MANAGEMENT IS SUPPOSED TO WORK. In 2000, the state started aggressively managing yellow tang, the prize fish of the aquarium trade in Hawaii. It was a move that came on the heels of community concern that the fish were being overharvested. Since, the yellow tang population along Kona coast — the heart of the aquarium trade in Hawaii — has - increased an impressive 35 percent. But at the same LO '� time, the number of yellow tangs collected for the aquarium trade jumped 81 percent. The value of the TANG n' G yellow tang catch overall increased 164 percent, leaping f'11 Y U from $383,000 to more than $1 million per year. So there were more fish in the water, fishermen caught more and made more money. fish, such as snappers or groupers. And the larvae of yellow tang drift out to sea where they spend two months "This has the potential to be a success story that before returning to the reef. Conditions in the open ocean are rough and Claisse says likely less than one percent people can apply in other parts of the world. A case survive. That's why yellow tang tend to spawn year round and for decades to increase their chances of survival. study of how you go about management," says Jeremy Another key behavior of yellow tang that scientists found is yellow tang tend to stay in one location for years. Claisse, of the University of Hawaii. Claisse says juveniles hardly move at all when they arrive on the reef, hunkering down in heavy coral gardens "This will get a lot of press around the world." with plenty of places to hide. As adults, the fish move to shallow reef flats where they can find algae to coxr.» But how did it happen? For starters, people like Claisse really got to know the fish. When managing a fish, some of the critical things to know are how long One of the biggest challenges in • Juvenile yellow tangs prefer to live in coral the fish lives, when it spawns, its age when it starts managing a fish is knowing its gardens with plenty of places to hide. Adults spawning and where it lives and feeds. With that life history. However, Yellow tang prefer shallow reef flats where algae they feed information, managers can better ensure the fish can is among the most understood on is more abundant replenish its population year after year. Here's some key facts Claisse found through years fish in Hawaii. • Yellow tangs produce on average 1 million eggs of research. a year, which is low compared to such reef fish Yellow tangs — a fish a little bigger than a silver- • Yellow tangs live for decades (the oldest known as snappers or groupers dollar pancake — live for decades. Claisse says one is 41 years old) • Yellow tang eggs spend two months in the open yellow tang studied was 41 years old and it is common .Yellow tang grow quickly in its first years, but ocean as larval fish; less than one percent likely to find 20- and 30 - something yellow tangs. The fish make it back to the reef then slow to an almost zero growth rate grows very fast its first few years, but then slows to an • Yellow tang's spawning strategy is to spread out almost zero growth rate. • Yellow tangs become sexually reproductive between 4 and 7 years old their reproductive effort over the course of each When it comes to spawning, yellow tangs produce y year and over the two to three decades of their on average about 1 million eggs a year. That number reproductive lifespan of eggs, Claisse says, is low compared to other reef (�� Source: Jeremy Claisse COMM IMO. 310 Z-. 7 2- Ref. To, P/ s D - Ref. :.?ate JUL 2 0 ZO1O 41111lNIIIIIIIIIllrlr ' - Why is yellow tang thriving when people are fishing for it more and taking more of them? • «CANT FROM eat, but remain in the same areas, day after day. Claisse says all those characteristics make the yellow tang a perfect candidate for A fisherman collects yellow tangs for the marine protected areas. Because the spawning success is so variable, a sustained aquarium trade. healthy adult population is critical. Then considering the fish tends to stay in one The price paid to the area and lives for decades, it is easy to protect a spawning population. fisherman for a single That's largely why in 2000 the state —with key backing from the community group, the yellow tang increased West Hawaii Fisheries Council — designated a series of fishery replenishment areas on 46 percent, from $1.97 to $2.87 since 2000. the West Hawaii coast that banned aquarium fish collecting. The network of areas cover 35 percent of the shoreline. And 8 years later, the results of course are impressive. More fish, more fisherman, more money being made. Says Bill Walsh, of the state Division of Aquatic Resources in Kona, "It's like a return on your investment in year one that will be paying back for decades." So are yellow tangs in the free and clear? Not entirely. Walsh says as the numbers break down, the protected areas have seen a 95 percent increase in yellow tang. And nor - - ,' demonstrating the bounty of the protected areas, there are bumps in numbers just outside the , protected areas, demonstrating spillover from the healthy population. .. '. , But in open areas, the yellow tang has actually z it 3.< decreased by 5 percent. Walsh says the state might -.. '4, have to consider limiting the number of permitted`. aquarium fishermen, which has ballooned in recent ip._ years as the fishery flourished in the protected areas.;,, And while the yellow tang population is strong, it is "? not clear how other aquarium targeted species are ==,...t== faring. Walsh says the discussions are underway to create a list of species that can be sustainably harvested. Aquarium trade collectors Walsh adds this past year, for the first time, the number of yellow tang collected target juvenile yellow tangs actually decreased. That is most likely due to a down year in spawning. For the same ,, because they are Netter suited t co reasons yellow tangs spawn so much and for so long — because success is naturally for fish tanks. Juveniles are variable — the year's spawning success could be down. typically found in coral gar dens, where there are plenty of �� m So management might need to be further refined. places to hide. o "But the good news is the breeding population is very robust," Walsh says. : ' s And sustainable. MONEY FISH • The aquarium trade is the most economically valuable reef 4 43 :k% fishery in the Main Hawaiian Islands, with landing revenues exceeding %,,,,801: s akule, opelu, lobsters, reef fishes and even bottomfish. Almost 200 e0R1( commercial fishers presently hold valid aquarium permits and the reported revenues reached $1.6 million in fiscal 2007. FlshLife is produced by the Division The yellow tang is far and away the most important species in the aquarium fishery of Aquatic Resources and funded comprising 73 percent of the total fish catch and 67 percent of the total value, or by the Federal Aid in Sport Fish nearly $1 million. Of that haul, more than 90 percent of the statewide yellow tang Restoration Program. catch comes from the Big Island and almost all of that from West coast of the Big Island. That equates to 354,000 Big Island yellow tang caught last year. Source: DAR