NOAA Technical Memorandum NMFS 

SUMMARY OF ENVIRONMENTAL AND FISHING 

INFORMATION ON GUAM AND THE COMMONWEALTH OF 

THE NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS : A REVIEW OF THE 

PLANKTON COMMUNITIES AND FISHERY RESOURCES 

Richard N. Uchida 

NOAA-TM-NMFS-swc-33 

July 1983 

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 

National Marine Fisheries Service 

Southwest Fisheries Center 
NOAA Technical Memorandum NMFS 

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SUMMARY OF ENVIRONMENTAL AND FISHING 

INFORMATION ON GUAM AND THE COMMONWEALTH OF 

THE NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS : A REVIEW OF THE 

PLANKTON COMMUNITIES AND FISHERY RESOURCES 

Richard N. Uchida 

Southwest Fisheries Center Honolulu Laboratory 

National Marine Fisheriea Service 

Honolulu, Hawaii 96812 

NOAA-WS-SWFG33 

July 1983 

US. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

Malcolm Baldrige, Secretary 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 

John V. Byrne, Administrator 

National Marine Fisheries Service 

William G. Gordon, Assistant Adrninistrator for Fisheries 
TABLE OF CONTENTS 

Introduction .......................... Zooplankton .......................... Fisheries development ..................... Pre-World War period ................... The pole-and-line skipjack tuna fishery ....... The tuna longline fishery .............. Other marine fisheries ............... Sponge .................... Pearl shells ................. Pearl culture ................. Sea cucumber ................. Trochus shells ................ Sea turtles .................. Post-World War I1 development ............... Revival of the skipjack tuna fishery . . . . Japanese southern water pole-and-line fishery . . . Japanese southern wnter purse seine fishery . Japanese longline fishery development ........ Other types of fishery development ......... Current status of fisheries .................. Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands ....... Guam ........................... Developmental potential .................... Offshore pelagic fishes .................. Baitfish ......................... Atulai (bigeye scad) ................... Bottomfish ........................ Caridean ehrimp ...................... Inshorefishes ...................... Rabbitfish ........................ Spinylobster ....................... Seamount groundfish resources ............... Corals (including precious corals). shells. and algae . Corals ....................... Shells ....................... Algae ........................ Sea cucumbers ........................ Unique and endangered species ................. Ciguatera ........................... Literature cited ........................ 

The Nntiond Mnrinc Fishcrics Service (NMFS) docs not approve. rccommcnd or endorse any proprietary product or proprietnry material 

mentioned in this publication . No reference shall be made to NMFS. or 

to this putJlication furnished by NMFS. in any advertising or sales promotion which would indicate or imply thnt NMFS npproves. recommcnda 

or cndorucs any proprictnry product or proprietary mntcrinl mcntioned 

herein. or which hnu as its purpose an intcnt to cnuae directly or indirectly 

the ndvcrtiscd product to be used or purchnscd because of thia NMFS 

publicntion . 

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INTRODIJCT ION 

The Resource Assessment Investigation of the Mariana Archipelago 

(RAIOMA) Program is a study by the Honolulu Laboratory which will be 

conducted in close cooperation with the Governments of Guam and the 

Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and by the University of Guam 

Marine Laboratory. 

mining the potential for development of crustacean, bottom fish, seamount 

groundfish, benthopelagic, and pelagic resources over the inner and outer 

shelves, shelf edge, reefs, and slope zones of these islands and adjacent 

seamounts. 

The investigation will address the problem of deterThis document was prepared to provide a comprehensive overview of the 

environmental and fishery information that has been published to date for 

the benefit of RAIOMA investigators currently involved in the field survey 

and resource assessment. 

Eldredge,l gives a historical background on Guam and the Northern 

Mariana Islands, provides a description of each of the islands in the 

archipelago, and summarizes the present state of knowledge of the climatic, oceanographic, and submarine topographic features of the area, 

This report reviews some of the past studies on the oceanic and 

neritic plankton communities in waters around Guam and the Northern 

Marianas, discusses historical fishery development in the pre- and 

post-World War I1 eras, presents an overview of the current status of 

fisheries in these islands, and summarizes the present state of knowledge 

of the stocks of fish, shellfish, corals, and algae with respect to their 

developmental potential. It also incorporates discussions on unique and 

endangered species and ciguatera. 

Reeults of research described in 170 papers and 25 unpublished 

documents were reviewed; however, I have not read all the published and 

unpublished papers cited. Some citations originally appeared in other 

reports and are listed here as references. 

nature of the report, many tables and figures have been either intentionally omitted or compiled into a single table. 

Also, because of the voluminous 

ZOOPLANKTON 

Almost all of the phyla of the animal kingdom are represented in the 

zooplankton. Many benthic and pelagic marine fishes as well as crustaceans 

spend their larval stages as members of the zooplankton community either 

bound strictly to coastal waters or existing normally only in offshore or 

oceanic waters. These requirements provide the basis for two divisions of 

lEldredge, L. G. 1983. Summary of environmental and fishing 

information on Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 

Islander Historical background, description of the islands, and review 

of the climate, oceanography, and submarine topography. (Manuscr. in 

prep. 1 
2 

zooplankton, based on their relative dependence on the coast. One is the 

oceanic division, which includes forms that occur typically at some distance from the coast and over great depths in the open sea (Sverdrup et al. 

1946). 

Balps, Salpa spp,, and copepods, Copepoda. The second is the neritic division which includes forms that inhabit coastal waters and extend only a 

short distance seaward. Neritic forms, as a rule, prefer relatively warm 

water with some reduction in salinity. 

belonging to benthic invertebrates and many fish eggs and fish larvae are 

found in the neritic plankton. It is not possible to distinguish sharply 

between neritic and oceanic populations because there is much overlapping. 

The neritic forms, however, are the greatest producers of the sea for it is 

in coastal waters that food materials are readily available for phytoplankton and plants and through these successively for small and large 

animals. 

Characteristic organisms of the oceanic plankton are Vellela, 

Vast swarms of pelagic larvae 

In general, zooplankton volume in the Pacific Ocean is distributed in 

a similar manner as pO4-P (Reid 1962). 

eastern boundary currents, low in central water, and relatively high along 

the Equator, and in two zones north and south of the Equator corresponding, 

to the equatorial divergence, 

Volumes are usually high in the 

Detailed information on the oceanic plankton community in waters 

around Guam and the Northern Marianas is practically nonexistent. One 

research cruise of the NOAA ship Townsend Cromwell (TC-76-05) to the 

western Pacific obtained some data on zooplankton volumes but these are too 

few to be of any practical value in examining species composition and 

abundance (seven stations with usable data). Data from other surveys 

conducted. in waters to the east, south, and north of the Mariana Archipelago, however, do provide some insight into the productivity of the 

water. 

The Mariana Archipelago, bathed by the North Equatorial Current, is 

situated in relatively plankton-poor water. Bogorov (1960) characterized 

the waters of the north equatorial zone at lat. 100 to 120 N as relatively 

low in phosphate but moderately high in bacteria (Table 1). Taniguchi 

(19731, who studied the phytoplankton-zooplankton relationships in the 

western Pacific Ocean and adjacent seas, found that the total zooplankton 

biomass between the surface and 150 m was lowest in the North Equatorial 

Current in comparison with 10 other areas examined, reaching only 1.35 g 

wet weight/m2 (Table 2). Based on biomass of the daily food ingestion of 

the herbivorous plankton, Taniguchi concluded that the temperature-affected 

rate of energy expenditure of small herbivores living in tropical seas is 

6.3 times higher than that of large-sized herbivores in seas of high latitudes. Apparently, tropical zooplankters grow and reproduce more rapidly 

(Kinne 1963, 1970); therefore, they must graze on more phytoplankton and at 

a higher filtering rate per unit body weight than high latitude herbivores. 

Taniguchi found that although the biomass of herbivores is quite small in 

the tropics, particularly in the oligotrophic North Equatorial Current, 

their ingestion rate per unit biomass is very high compared with results 

obtained from the Bering Sea. He speculated that the herbivorous biomass 

which can be sustained by a unit amount of primary production is relatively 

small in the high-temperature, less productive tropics, and large in the 

low-temperature, more productive high latitudes. 
3 

Table 1.--Physical, chemical, and biological characteristics of the 

geographical water zones established for the central Pacific Ocean 

(Bogorov 1960) - 

17.0 21.0 13.0 32 Northern' 

sub tropical 

Northern 

equatorial 25.5 27.6 14.0 36 4.6 

Equatorial 

counter- 27.5 29.1 10.9 26 4.1 

current 

27.0 20.4 14.5 30 4.4 Southern 

Southern 

equatorial 

subtropical 22.0 21.7 15.0 39 5.5 

- 

5 

3 \ 

bo0 

-0 El 

+O 

04 fa 

tu 

- 

fb* 

12.5 

3.0 

14.0 

10.0 

7.1 

I 

3,600 97 

3,100 26 

150 19,900 46 

95 4,300 12 

38 3.600 36 

500-100 

50 

50 

50 

160-400 

- 

m 

U 

d a 

$2 uv 

u 

0 

Li3 

- mu 

1.46 

1.40 

0.90 

1.00 

1.20 

lThe characteristics of the subtropical zones are presen.ted as a mean of the. 

values of the northern and southern portions of these zones. 

Table 2.--Total zooplankton biomass in upper 150 m of water column, 

phytoplankton standing crop, and daily primary production in euphotic 

layer, observed in 11 sea areas in western Pacific Ocean and adjacent 

seas (Taniguchi 1973). 

Phytoplankton 

Total zooplankton standing crop Daily primary 

biomass, 0-1502m tn euphotic layer2 produ 5 tion 

Sea area (p, wet weip,ht/m (mg chlorophyll film ) (mp, C/m /day) 

Bering Sea 

Subarctic current area 

Oyashio area 

Spring 

Summer 

Okhotsk Sea 

South of Japan 

East of Philippines 

Kuroshio Countercurrent area 

North Equatorinl Current area 

Equatorinl Counterctirrent area 

South Equatorial Current aren 

East of New Zenlnnd 

67.35 

23.70 

86.95 

31.50 

9.90 

1.95 

2.R5 

2.n5 

1.35 

4.80 

11.60 

3.75 

72.13 

27.30 

172.50 

14.60 

6.86 

12.67 

14.98 

13.35 

124.25 

20.47 

-- 

llR.OO 

490 

160 

1,510 

4 50 

RO 

60 

140 

160 

90 

190 

290 

290 

'Theee two values were determined fliioromrtrically, the others tricolorimetrlcally. 
4 

The area just slightly north of the Marianas, between lat. 200 and 

300 N, has been studied extensively by Japanese scientists, Motoda et al. 

( 1970) measured average standing crop of zooplankton and phytoplankton and 

etanding reserves of nutrient salts in the euphotic layer for areas to the 

north and south of the Subtropical Convergence. For zooplankton, they 

found that in 1966 the volumes in the upper 150 m of water were only 

slightly higher in the north (Kuroshio Countercurrent) than in the south 

(subtropical water), In 1967, however, the volumes in the north were 

considerably higher than in the south (Figure 1). 

in the euphotic zone, estimated from measurements of zooplankton carbon, 

also followed a similar pattern with average carbon content for 1966-67 

reaching 421 mg/m2 in the north and 185 mg/m2 in the south (Table 3). 

Estimates of primary or photosynthetic production of standing crop of 

chlorophyll a, of pigment contents, and of standing reserve of seston 

carbon are also given in Table 3. 

The zooplankton biomass 

- i, (21) (23) $ 

i? - IIIIIII I IIIII 

10 8 6 4 2 0 2 4 6 8 10 

G./1,000 M? 

I I I 

1C 

N 

35 

3c 

!C 

15 

Figure 1.--Plankton volumes taken in the upper 150 m by a 

0.10-mm mesh net hauled vertically, January 1966 and 

January 1977 (station numbers in parentheses) (Motoda et 

al. 1970). 
5 

Quantitative estimates of the distribution of large and more mobile 

macroplankton are also available from a study by Vinogradov and Parin 

(19731, who selected four study areas in the tropical Pacific. 

station nearest the Mariana Archipelago at lat. 13031' N and long. 

139058' E (Study Area IV), they found the plankton biomass very low with 

the mesoplankton and macroplankton in the 0- to 500- layer reaching only 

about 10.0 and 1.7 mg/m3, respectively. 

(Study Areas I and 11) near the Caroline Islands, Vinogradov and Parin 

found the mesoplankton biomasses in the 0- to 200-m layer averaging 26.1 

and 26.5 mg/m3, whereas the macroplankton biomasses in the 0- to 500-m 

layer were 5.3 and 4.0 mg/m3. Study Area 111, which was located in the 

Sulu Sea, had the highest macroplankton biomass, reaching 7.2 mg/m3 in the 

0- to 500-m layer or almost 35% of the mesoplankton biomass (Figure 2). 

At the 

Further south, at two stations 

Table 3.--Average values of organic and inorganic particulate materials 

observed at long. 142" E between lat. 20' and 30" N in January 1966 and 

January 1977. Values for areas north and south of the Subtropical Convergence are given separately (number of stations observed in parentheses) (Motoda et al. 1970). 

Grand average 

North South North South North South 

19 66 1967 - 

2 Zooplankton (mg C/m ) 

Number of .observations 

Photosynthetic production 400 130 

(mg C/m2/day) 

Number of observations (1) (3) 

Number of observations (2) (3) 

Chlorophyll g (mg/m2) 22.0 15.0 

Pigments : 

Chlorophyll a 

Number of observations 

Phaeophytin 

Number of observations 

Seston (mg c/m2) 3,770 6,480 

Dissolved organic N (mg N/m2) 9,230 8,300 

Nitrate-N (mg N/m2) 1,800 424 

Number of observations (2) (3) 

Number of observations (2) (3) 

Number of observations (4) (5 1 

Ammonia-N (mg N/m2) 

Number of observations 

Phosphate-P (mg P/m2) 

Number of observations 

236 477 

(3) (3) 

(6) (7) 

247 186 

462 142 421 185 

(6) (5) 

53 40 2 26 85 

2.8 2.2 

(2) (1) 

11.1 7.1 

(2) (1) 

(2) (1) 

(2) (1) 

(9) (6 1 

(2 1 (1) 

(7) (5) 

4,720 4,600 4,245 5,540 

10,800 9,040 10,015 8,670 

316 282 1,058 353 

395 141 316 309 

15 8 40 202 113 
6 

12 

Iff 

8- 

6- 

4- 

2- 

Studies on the neritic zooplankton communities around Guam have been 

reviewed by Eldredge and Kropp.2 

found in Apra Harbor and Piti Reef (Marsh et al. 1977, 1980;3 University of 

Guam Marine Laboratory (UGML) 19771, and along several sites between Agana 

Bay and Ajayan Bay (Tsuda and Grosenbaugh 1977; Amesbury 1978). Eldredge 

and Kropp pointed out that most of the plankton studies from Guam had been 

conducted in conjunction with general environmental surveys and, therefore, 

were all results of short-term projects. 

These studies focused on communities 

- 

- 

In general, the abundance of neritic plankton around Guam is highly 

variable not only between and within sampling locations but also from month 

to month. 

have shown that plankton is more abundant and the community structure is 

significantly different at night than it is during the day. 

also influence community composition but its effect is still unclear. 

Furthermore, the Guam studies, according to Eldredge and Kropp, 

Moon phase may 

ii I\

#I .. 

I! 

I- ! L.? 

I 

I I I I t I 1 I I 1 I I 

U zuff 4ffD 600 Bffff /OQff 

Depth, m 

Figure 2.--Macroplankton biomass according to catches 

with a variable-depth trawl, in mg/m3. 

I; 2 - Study Area 11; 3 - Study Area 111; 4 - Study 

Area IV (Vinogradov and Parin 1973). 

1 - Study Area 

'Eldredge, L. G., and R. K. Kropp. [1981.] Guam's oceans. A review 

of the physical, chemical, and biological oceanographic literature for the 

waters surrounding Guam. Final draft for Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, 

Univ. Calif., 199 p. 

3Marsh, J. S., Jr., S. deC. Wilkins, D. E. Pendleton, and A. BillmanKitalong. 1980. Cabras seawater scrubber project : Phase 11. Ecological 

studies. Report submitted to R. W. Beck Assoc., 102 p. 
7 

In a study of the distribution of planktonic eggs and larvae, Amesbury 

(1978) found fish egg density varying from 4.2 to 223.3/& of water and 

relative abundance varying from 2.7 to 91 .l% of planktonic organisms. 

Despite the wide range in abundance, fish eggs were found to be distributed 

randomly in the water, whereas fish larvae were considerably less abundant 

than fish eggs, their greatest density reaching 6.3/m3 of water in a sample 

where they constituted only 5.1% of the planktonic organisms. 

several tows failed to produce any fish larvae, because they appeared to be 

aggregated in their distribution. The data also suggested some seasonality 

in the abundance of fish eggs with highest densities usually in summer when 

fish larvae density was lowest. Amesbury also examined the association of 

fish larvae and nursery areas and concluded that although it might be 

tempting to rate the various areas on the basis of their importance in the 

production of young fishes, it must be emphasized that the larvae and 

juveniles of hundreds of fish species have specific habits and preferences 

which differ from one another. He suggested that preservation of a wide 

variety of environments will insure that species with differing ecological 

requirements will be able to complete their life cycles. 

zooplankton abundance for the several sites sampled by Amesbury is given in 

Table 4. 

In fact, 

The mean 

Several studies conducted at Apra Harbor have demonstrated that this 

area has several different zooplankton communities (Figure 3). In the 

outer harbor, chaetognaths predominated (up to 152/m3) during the day 

whereas ostracods predominated (up to 1,402/m3) at night (Marsh et al. 

1977; UGML 1977). Furthermore, compared with the rest of the harbor, the 

outer harbor community was relatively low in numbers of decapod crustacean 

larvae, foraminiferans, and fish eggs but high in fish larvae. In the 

commercial port area, which ranked first in plankton abundance, the 

predominant organisms in the zooplankton community were copepods, 

pteropods, and decapod crustaceans, but their relative abundance varied 

considerably. For example, the number of copepods in daylight tows in 

October 1976 reached 1,47O/m3 whereas in December 1976, it was only 9/m3. 

Marsh et al. (1977) also found that pteropod abundance varied widely, 

ranging from 18 to 3,92O/m3. 

Piti Channel in the northeastern sector of Apra Harbor ranked second 

in overall abundance (Marsh et al. 1977). Decapod zoeae predominated and 

were more abundant than in any other part of Apra Harbor, except at Sasa 

Bay located on the inner sector of the harbor. 

The powerplant area, which includes the outfall lagoon, the Piti 

Canal, and the Tepungan Channel in the extreme northeast corner of Piti 

Channel, was the poorest area in terms of zooplankton density. 

zoeae, fish eggs, and foraminiferans predominated (Marsh et al. 1977, 1980, 

footnote 3). 

Here, crab 

In a survey to collect baseline information on the composition of the 

zooplankton communities in Tanapag Harbor, Saipan (Figure 41, Amesbury and 

Doty (1977) found that in the inner sector of the harbor (Baker and Charlie 

Bays), the number and volume of zooplankton were larger during the day than 

at night whereas the day-night pattern was reversed in the outer harbor 

(Table 5). 

composition with copepods from the inner sector comprising more than 90% of 

They also noted a significant diurnal change in the plankton 
8 

the daytime samples whereas larval crabs and shrimps predominated in the 

night samples. The outer harbor samples, on the other hand, had very few 

copepods and the predominant organisms were crustacean larvae, particularly 

in the night samples where crab zoeae comprised 76% of the samples. 

Amesbury and Doty concluded from their study that plankton feeding may 

be an important nutritional niche in the harbor’s marine communities and 

the high abundance of plankton-feeders suggests this. They also stated 

that the sharp difference in plankton composition between the inner and 

outer harbors suggests that very little water mixing is occurring between 

theee two,areae; therefore, warm water or effluents discharged into Tanapag 

Harbor would likely undergo less dispersion and dilution. 

A second study of the zooplankton community in waters around the 

Northern Marianas, this time taking in all of Saipan Lagoon (Figure 51, 

revealed that zooplankton in the lagoon as a whole was rather sparse, with 

densities averaging only 66.2 individuals/d (Table 6) . (1979) found that this was considerably lower than densities found in Yap 

Lagoon where it averaged 257.7/d and far lower than the 617/m3 found near 

Ebeye in Kwajalein Atoll. The study also revealed that the distribution of 

fish eggs and larvae was widespread in the lagoon. Fish eggs, together 

with the ubiquitous copepods, occurred in all 17 tows whereas fish larvae 

occurred in 14 tows. Other taxons that contributed to the density of the 

zooplankton community were the brachyura crab zoeae, foraminifera, and 

shrimp larvae. 

Amesbury et al. 

Occasionally numerous were chaetognaths and larvaceans . The results also revealed that tows 1 and 4, which were made in 

proximity to areas with rich Halodule sea grass beds, had the highest egg 

densities, reaching 54.8 and 66.4/m3, respectively. The authors concluded 

Table 4.--Mean daytime zooplankton abundance for several locations 

around Guam (Amesbury 1978). 

Sampling dates 

Number Mean 1977 1978 

Locat ion 3/14 4/15 711 716 6/10 115 Total of tows numberlm’ 

kat Bay 

Nimitz Channel 44.3 116.8 131.7 60.4 14.2 56.2 423.6 6 70.6 

NimitE reef front 32.3 101.3 202.9 -- -- 108.8 877.0 8 109.6 

1/4-mile offshore 20.8 11.5 -- -- -- -- 32.3 2 16.2 

1/2-mile offshore -- 17.9 108.8 -- -- 32.8 159.5 3 53.2 

1-mile offshore -- -- 88.8 -- -- -- 88.8 1 88.8 

58.3 123.8 83.3 -- -- 166.3 

Achang Bay -- -- -- 440.8 275.4 -- 716.2 2 358.1 

Manell Channel - -- -- 191.1 267.1 834.0 

-- -- -- 465.8 -- -- 2,194.7 5 438.9 

-- -- -- 436.7 -- -- 

Maya Bay -- I -- 194.2 61.7 905.8 1.161.7 3 387.2 

Cocoa Lagoon I -- -- 136 0 3 -- -- 136.3 1 136.3 

Umatac Bay -- I -- 96.7 39.6 34.2 170.5 3 56.8 
9 

PlllLlPPINE SEA 

Commercial Port 

hpra Harbor 

Polaris Point 

1000 

METERS b hgiiada River 

Figure 3.--Map of study area showing coral station and transect locations. 

Stations A-T are located in Sasa Bay and 1-15 in Piti Channel. 

are dnclosed by dotted lines and fringing reefs are stippled (University 

of Guam Marine Laboratory 1977). 

Patch reefs 
10 

* AREg STUDY Puntan Flores f 

Echo 

Figure 4.--Map of Tanapag Harbor (Doty 1977). 
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WON0 0 N N 

N 4-34 4N 

dd4dAdddd 

...... 

a. I4 ddd 70 

4W 

00 "4??? .. uoor(0 Ulv 

4 

0 

5 

i 

4 

a 

3 

a 

+I 

3 

4 

a 

E 

'H 

I 

I 

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rl 

P 

(d 

E-l 

m 

aJ 

rl 

0 

a 
14 

that tows made in richly developed sea gras8 beds primarily composed of 

Halodule uninervis, seemed to be exceptionally productive in terms of 

production of fish egg. 

of the areas surrounding the rich Aalodule beds and the mangrove channel 

were essential to the maintenance and development of a viable fishery in 

Saipan Lagoon. 

They suggested that the protection and management 

FISHERIES DEVELOPMENT 

The development of commercial fisheries in the Trust Territory of the 

Pacific Islands, formerly the Japanese Mandated Islands (JMI) of which the 

Northern Mariana Islands were a part, was among the most important and 

outstanding achievement in Micronesia during the pre-World War I1 era 

(Nishi 1968). 

took place under Japanese rule prior to World War I1 and discuss the 

important developments that have taken place in the postwar era. 

this information can also be found in Uchida and Sumida.4 

It is important therefore, to review the developments that 

Some of 

Pre-World War I1 Period 

Briefly, after World War I, Japan took possession of JMI under the 

Treaty of Versailles and was given the mandate to administer all the former 

German possessions north of the Equator. 

JMI began on 1 April 1922. In 1935, Japan withdrew from the League of 

Nations and promptly annexed the islands. 

Japanese Civil Administration of 

Japan was keenly aware of the developmental potential of the fishery 

resources of JMI and in the decade 1921-30, the government initiated a 

general inquiry into the potential of the marine resources in waters around 

the numerous islands and atolls. An intensive fishery research and exploratory fishing program in 1925-29 demonstrated that many of the islands 

possessed tremendous potential as fishing bases for large commercial 

fishing operations (South Seas Government-General Fisheries Experiment 

Station 1937a). 

potential of JMI is attested to by the increase in the landings of skipjack 

tuna, Katsuwonus pelamis, and other tunas by Japanese vessels (Figure 6). 

That the Japanese accurately appraised the tuna fishing 

In addition to fishery research, the Japanese Government inquired into 

the potential for agricultural development, but the conclusion drawn from 

the years of intensive study both on land and at sea revealed that although 

the possibilities of the islands were limited with respect to agricultural 

production, the sea offered unlimited potential for development (Nishi 

1968) 

Initial fishery development effort had no restrictions on fishing 

rights for natives, Japanese, or foreigners although the latter two groups 

4Uchida, R. @I., and R. F. Sumida. 1975. A summary of environmental 

and tuna fishing information of the U.S. Trust Territory of the Pacific 

Islands. Southwest Fish. Cent. Admin. Rep. 9H, 193 p. Natl. Mar. Fish. 

Serv., NOM, Honolulu, HI 96812. 
I

15 

TUNAS CANOED AT JAPANESE HOME PORTS, 1908-45 

bdta horn Slatlbtlcol Ytatbooho, Minlotry of Commtret and Agrloulturt [ 1908 - 18) and Yinlrtry 

64 A(rlcultur0 and Corrttry (1916-45). sRrpubllmhtd In Natural Rtoourctr Srction Rtport ko.bb. 

, I 

Figure 6.--Tunas landed at Japanese home ports, 1908-45 (Shapiro 1948). 
16 

were required to obtain permission from the South Seas Government to engage 

in fishing (Nishi 1968). Large numbers of Japanese fishermen, attracted to 

the JMI, first engaged in small, individual enterprises requiring only a 

minimum amount of investment capital for a boat and for a simple fish 

processing plant. Later, the trend was away from small enterprises and 

large companies began to supplant the small operations and gradually 

monopolized commercial fisheries. 

The Pole-and-Line Skipjack Tuna Fishery 

The Japanese skipjack tuna fishery in the JMI, which was an 

outstanding example of fishery development, evolved only after a lengthy 

period of persistent effort (Cleaver and Shimada 1950). 

ment subsidized ventures, early efforts failed but gradually, as suitable 

bait species were found and catching and handling methods were established, 

the fishery developed into a viable and valuable industry. 

Even with governAttempts by the Japanese to establish a pole-and-line fishery for 

skipjack tuna in the JMI began at Saipan, but after some trial fishing it 

became obvious that bait was inadequate and fishing was unsatisfactory. 

Further exploration revealed, however, that the Palau Islands had a large, 

reliable supply of bait and the Japanese devoted considerable effort to 

developing a fishery base there (South Sea Government-General Fisheries 

Experiment Station 1937a; Smith 1947a). Favorable reports regarding the 

abundance of skipjack tuna schools and the ease of fishing in calm tropical 

waters throughout the year reached Japan and induced several Japanese 

fishing companies to establish bases in the JMI (Shapiro 1948). To 

encourage fishery development in their far-flung South Sea Island outposts, 

the Japanese Government not only sent its nationals overseas but also 

provided subsidies to induce Okinawan fishermen to migrate to the JMI 

(South Seas Government-General Fisheries Experiment Station 1937a). 

From about 1930, the Japanese systematically established shore-based 

operations using fleets of small sampans. Fishing operations, started in 

Saipan in the Marianas, expanded to Palau and Truk in the Caroline Islands, 

then to Yap, Ponape, and Kusaie, and finally to Jaluit in the Marshalls 

(Figure 7) (Ikebe and Matsumoto 1937; Smith 19478). The long distances of 

these fishing bases from the Japanese homeland precluded the transport of 

fresh fish. As a result, all the skipjack tuna caught were processed for 

export in the form of dried sticks called "katsuobushi." 

The burgeoning South Seas pole-and-line fishery, however, was not 

without problems. To conduct pole-and-line fishing, the Japanese found it 

more efficient and practical to use small vessels or sampans, ranging from 

8 to 15 m (26 to 50 ft) which carried crews of 5 to 25 men. 

the Japanese found, were unnecessary because skipjack tuna fishing was 

limited for the most part to waters close to the widely scattered major 

fishing bases established at Palau, Saipan, Truk, Ponape, Kusaie, and Yap 

(Cleaver and Shimada 1950). Furihermore, because live bait was always in 

short supply and once caught, almost impossible to keep alive for any 

length of time, the sampans usually made 1-day trips and rarely operated 

beyond 50 nmi from land. 

Large vessels, 
17 
1.8 

Scarcity of suitable live bait in many of the island outposts forced 

the Japanese fishermen to adapt themselves to using a wide variety of other 

species, such as reef fishes belonging to several families, in addition to 

the anchovies and herringlike fishes (Cleaver and Shimada 1950). 

lists the scientific and common Japanese names of fishes that were considered suitable live bait for skipjack tuna fishing in the JMI. 

lists the scientific, English, and local names of all the fishes discussed 

in the remainder of the text. 

Table 7 

Table 8 

According to Cleaver and Shimada, Spratelloides delicatulus or "fool 

bait" was preferred by fishermen at Saipan and Tinian but young carangids, 

filefish, Monacanthus sp~, atherinids, and Caesio sp. were also caught near 

the reefs and used for fishing. Other historical accounts indicated that 

in September-November, there were no suitable live bait for skipjack tuna 

fishing in Saipan waters although in June-August, large schools of baitfish 

identified as "tarekuchi," Stolephorus heterolobus, and "akamuro, I' C. 

chrysozona, were seen but their occurrence was highly sporadic (Ikebe and ' 

Matsumoto 1938). In Palau, the best bait was the anchovy, & heterolobus, 

but during periods of bait shortage, numerous other small fishes were also 

used (South Seas Government-General Fisheries Experiment Station 1937a). 

The Japanese also found an abundant supply of "tarekuchi" in Yap Bay 

(Ikebe and Matsumoto 1937) whereas juvenile Priacanthus sp. and Bcapterus 

sp. were the dominant bait species at Ponape (South Seas Government-General 

Fisheries Experiment Station 1937b). At Truk, both juvenile Priacanthus 

sp. and anchovy, Stolephorus sp. were the best bait. 

Baitfishing techniques developed by Japanese fishermen in their 

homeland were not always suitable for capturing bait in the JMI's poleand-line fishery. Because bait species that were caught in Japanese waters 

did not occur south of lat. 200 N, fishermen operating in the JMI experimented with various new techniques until a satisfactory system evolved 

(Cleaver and Shimada 1950). But the development of one baiting technique 

did not necessarily mean success, because it was found that the same 

procedures could not be used from one season to another or between island 

groups. 

Purse seine, lift net, and several other types of gear were used in 

capturing bait in the JMI (Cleaver and Shimada 1950). A lift net used in 

combination with a night light was particularly effective in capturing bait 

at Palau. At Tinian, where a variation of the lift net was adopted, the 

fishermen set the net first, then swam along the cliffs herding schools of 

"fool bait" into it. 

To capture reef fish for bait likewise required adaptation in 

technique. 

net, consisting of a large pocket flanked by wings of netting, was regularly used throughout the JMI to capture reef fish (Kask 1947). 

setting the net in an open channel between two reefs, the fishermen formed 

a large semicircle and herded reef fishes into it, then converged to close 

the opening. 

Cleaver and Shimada (1950) reported that the Okinawan drive-in 

After 

Bait handling technique was another area that required improvisation. 

The difference in handling bait caught in Japanese waters and in the JMI 
19 

Table 7.--Some baitfishes used by the Japanese skipjack tuna fishery 

(Cleaver and Shi-mada 1950). 1 

--.-- -~___ 

Scientific name Common Japanese name 

~____ - 

Japan and - Ryukyu Islands 

Apogon notata 

- A. truncata 

Atherina bleekeri 

A. tsurugae 

Keryx decadactylus 

Caesio caerulaureus 

- C. diagrama 

Caranx d j eddaba 

Engraulis japonicus 

Harengula zunashi 

Lut j anus vaigiensis 

Parupeneus sp. 

Pomacentrus anabatoids 

Sardinella mizun 

Sardinops immaculata 

- S. melanosticta 

Scomber japonicus 

Apogon sp. 

Archamia lineolata 

Atherina sip. 

- A. valenciennesii 

Caesio chrysozona 

Caranx sp. 

- C. leptolepis 

- C. malabaricus 

Chilodipterus sp. 

Dascyllus trimaculatus 

Decapterus sp. 

- D. russelli 

Gazza equulasformis 

Hqengula ovalis 

Labracoglossa argentiventris 

Mullus sp. 

Parupeneus sp. 

Rastrelliger kanagurta 

Sardinella leiogaster 

Selar crumenophthalmus 

Sphyraena obtusata 

Spratelloides delicatulus 

- S . j aponicus 

Stolephorus heterolobus 

Kurohoshi-tenj ikudai, ufuni 

Ufuni 

Togoro-iwashi 

Aoharara, gin-isG-iwashi 

Gasagasa, nanyo-kinmedai 

Saneera, shimamuro-gurukun 

Gurukun 

Gat sun 

Katakuchi-iwashi, seguro-iwashi, 

Sappa 

Mochinogwa, okifuefuki 

Hime j i 

Hichigwa, hikigwa 

Mizun 

Hoshinashi-iwashi, shiira 

Ma- iwas h i 

Gsabanoko, saba 

tarekuchi-iwashi 

South Seas 

Akadoro 

Atohiki-tenj ikudai 

Kokera, tobi-iwashi, togoro-iwashi 

Nanyo-tsgoro-iwashi 

Akamuro, gurukun, saneera, umeiro 

Aji, gatsun 

Aj i 

Shima aji 

Akadoro 

Mont suki 

Muro, shima-muro 

Akamuro 

Hiiragi 

Ma-iwashi, nanyo-ma-iwashi 

Takabe 

Oj isan 

Oj isan 

Saba 

Mangurobu-iwashi 

Me-a j i 

Kamasu 

Ao-iwashi, baka, nanyo-kibinago 

Bakasako, kibiko-iwashi, sururu 

Nanyo-katakuchi-iwashi, tarekuchi 
20 

Table 7. -.-Continued. 

~- 

Scientific name Common .Japanese name 

------_ 

Trachurus japonicus 

Upeneus sp. 

- U. tragula 

Ma-aj i 

Ojisan 

Yomehimej i 

lThe bait species listed herein were not limited in use exclusively 

to the area for which listed. 

available in quantity. 

Exp. Stn. for 1937; Marukawa, H., South Sea Fisheries 5(5), 1939; and 

Dr. Y. Hiyama, Tokyo University, Tokyo, Japan. 

They were used by the fishery wherever 

Note: The data were obtained from: Prog. Rep. Okinawa Pref. Fish. 
21 

Table 8.--Scientific, English, and local names of fishee discuseed 

in this report (Car = Carolinian; Cha = Chamorro; G - Guamanian). 

Scientific name English name Local name 

Abudefduf coelestinue 

(a A. sexfasciatus) 

Acanthocvbiun solandri 

hnthurus xanthovterus 

Adiorvx svinifer 

- A. andamanensis 

-- A. t iere 

Avonon notatus 

- A, truncata 

Avhareus furcatus 

- A. rutilans 

Avrion virescens 

Archamia lineolata 

Atherina bleekeri 

- A. tsurunae 

- A. valenciennesii 

Bervx decadactvlus 

- B. svlendens 

Caesio caerulaureus 

- C. chrvsozona 

- C. dianramma 

Canthinaster solandri 

CaranPoides ferdau 

* Allanetta bleekeri) 

- C. heminvmnostethus 

Caranx dieddaba 

- C. luleubris 

- C. levtolepis 

- C. malabaricus 

- C. melamvvnue 

-- C. sexfasciatus 

Stripetailed damselfish 

Wahoo 

Ringtailed surgeonfish 

Squirrelf ish 

Squirrelfish, fanfin 

so Id ier 

Squirrelf ish 

Cardinalf ish 

Cardinalfish 

Olive smalltooth jobf ish 

Rusty smalltooth jobf ish 

Gray snapper, blue-gray 

snapper 

Crossbanded cardinalf ish 

Flathead silverside 

Silverside 

Silverside 

Broad alf ons in 

Alf ons in 

Blue-and-gold fusilier 

Blacktipped fusilier 

Darkbanded fusilier 

Sharpbacked puffer 

Blue trevally, Ferdau's 

Jack 

Evenbellied crevalle 

Blackjack 

Yellowstriped crevalle 

slender trevally 

Malabar jack 

Bluefinned crevalle, 

spotted trevally 

cavalla 

Horse-eye jack, yellow 

jack 

_- 

Ngenl (Car) 

Saowarag- to sun ( Cha ) 

Tosun (G) 

fgaingun (Car) 

Hugupao (Cha) 

Ugupao (GI 

Tiper (Car) 

Sesebug, sesiok (Cha) 

-- 

-_ 

Lehi (G) 

Aiwe (Car) 

Aluhun laiguan (Cha) 

Salmon, uku (GI 

-- 

Etam (Car) 

Tarakiton atelong (Cha) 

Tarakito (G) 

Dchep (small) (Car) 

Etam (big) (Car) 

Tarakiton apaka (Cha) 

Tarakito (GI 
2% 

Table 8. --Conk inued . 

- Car c ha r h isn men i s or ah 

Ce p ha 1 by ho 1 i s au r an t iu e 

- C. eexmaculatus 

Chae todon Cora I licola 

Chelon vainiensig 

Chromis Neruleus 

Corvphaena hippurus 

---_ Ctenochaetus striatus 

Dascyllus aruanus 

- D1 trimaculatus 

Decapterus russelli 

Elanatis bipinnulab 

Ennraulis japonicuq 

Epinephelus emoryi 

Etelis carbunculue 

- E, coruscans 

Euthvnnua af f inis 

Gama eauulasformis 

Gerres arwreus 

Ginnlymostoma ferrunineum 

Gnathodentex aurolineatug 

Gvmnocranius japonicus 

Gvmiosarda unicolor 

Gvmnothorax f lavi- 

- G. eurostue 

Harenwla ovalis 

- H, zunashi 

Heniochus acuminatus 

Ie t iophortis plat yp t erus 

Katsuwonus pelamis 

marninatus 

Kuhlia rupestris 

Labracoaloesa arnentiLeiopnathus eauulus 

-- Lethrinus giniatusveneris 

- L. __._I_ ramak 

Gray reef shark 

Orange rockcod 

Sea bas s 

Butterf lyf iRh 

Mullet 

Damself ish 

Mnh ima h i 

Sure eonf ish 

Dam s e 1 f i s h 

Dam se If i sh 

Mackerel. scad, roiinrl ecad 

Rainbow rtinner, Bawaiian 

sa lmon 

Japaneee anchovy 

Sea baes 

Red mapper 

Red snapper, ruby snappr 

Kawakawa 

Soapy 

Mo jarrae 

Nurse shark 

Striped large-eye bream 

Pigface bream 

Dogtooth tuna, dog tuna, 

scaleless tuna, white 

tuna 

Yellow-edged moray eel 

Moray eel 

Spot t e d her r i ng 

Scaled sardine 

Featherf in bullf ish 

Sailfish 

Skipjack tuna 

Rock f lagtail 

-- 

Ponyf ish 

Green snapper, longnosed 

snapper 

Yellowbanded porgy 

-- 

-- 

Ehu (G) 

Onagn (G) 

Asil leu (Car) 

Kachug npnka (Cha) 

Bl.ack Rkipjack tuna (G) 

Majarrns (G) 

-- 

-"I 

-... 

-- 

*_ 

-- 

e_ 

-- 

-- 

Angarap (Car) 

Kacho (Cha) 

Umatan (GI 

-- 

U-Lul (Car) 

Liliok (G) 

Mafuti (Cha) 

Lililug (Cha) 
23 

Table 8 .--Continued. 

I 

Scientific name English name Local name 

- Lethrinus variepatus 

Lutjanus arventimaculatu8 

-- L. bohar 

- 

- L. gibbus 

- L. kasmira 

- L. monostinma 

- L. rivulatus 

- L. vaipiensis 

Makaira indica 

- M. ninricans 

Menalops cvprinoides 

Monotaxis nrandoculis 

Munil cephalus 

Mu 1 loid ic ht hvs auriHvripristis berndti 

- Naso vlaminni 

f lamma 

Pap;rus maim 

Parapercis cephalopunctat a 

Paracaesio caeruleus 

- P. xanthurus 

Paruveneus porphvreus 

- P. trifasciatus 

Peataceros richardsoni 

Plcctorhvnchus orientalis 

Polydacty Ius sexf ilis 

Pomacentrus anabatoids 

Priacantbus crucntatus 

Pristipornoides amoenus 

- P. auricilla 

- P. filamentosus 

- WVQ 

- P. flavipinnis 

- P, sieboldii 

- B. eonatus 

Pastrelliger kanaparta 

Variegated emperor 

Gray snapper, silverspotted gray snapper 

Twinspot snapper, twospotted snapper 

Humpbacked red snapper 

Bluelined snapper, 

yellow and blue seaperch 

Red snapper 

Speckled snapper 

Yellowmargined seaperch 

Black marlin 

Blue marlin 

Oxeye tarpon 

Roundtooth large-eye 

Mullet, striped mullet 

bream 

Goldstriped goatfish 

Squ irre 1 f i ah 

Bignose unicorn, unicornfish 

Porgy, sea bream 

Sandperch 

Fus i 1 ie r 

Yellowback fusilier 

Whitestriped goatfish 

Threebar goatfish 

Pelagic amsrhead 

Oriental sweet lip 

Pacific threadfin 

Damse If ish 

Peacock damself ish 

Red bigeye 

SMPP= 

Yellowtail snapper 

Pink saappex, crimson 

snapper 

Yellow-eye snapper 

Pink snapper 

ObIiquebmded snapper 

Id ian machoe P 

-- 

MOB (Car) 

Buha (Cha) 

Tagaf i (G) 

Faf aet (GI 

Sas (Car) 

Sas (Char) 

Funai (G) 

Kakaka (GI 

-- 

-- 

Takular (Car) 

Masetmas (Car) 

Matanhagon (Cha) 

Aguas ((20.3 cm) (GI 

Liguan (>20.3 cm) (G) 

-- 

-- 

Sasag (GI 

-- 

-- 

Salmonete acho (G) 

-- 

-- 

Boca dulce (GI 

-- 

e 

Mamagas (GI 

-- 

Yellowtail kalekale (G) 

Pink paka, pink opakaYelloreye opakapaka (GI 

Pink kalekale (GI 

Gindai (GI 

paka (GI 

-- 
Table 8.--Continued. 

English name Local name -_ --- -- -- Scientif f c name -wedelicatul US 

graci1i.g le iabonicue 

#to1 ephot ue bucca neeri 

B* 

Bufflamen fxae natuq. 

D~traDt urue finme$$- 

rmturue audaq 

me trio 

JilumwkX* ab acarea 

Gmoothbel ly eardine 1 la 

Sardinella 

Sardine 

Japanese sardine 

Parrotf ish 

Chub mackerel 

Bigeye scad 

Greater amberjack 

Silver epinef oot 

Rabbitfish, epinefoot 

Rabbitfaced spinefoot 

Rabbitfish, bluntnosed 

Pacific barracuda 

Great barracuda 

spinef oot 

Band e d barracuda 

Obtuee barracuda 

Delicate round herring 

Banded blue sprat 

Whitestriped blue eprat 

Buccaneer anchovy 

Shorthead anchovy 

Bridle triggerfish 

Short bill epearf ieh 

bluebacked sprat 

Striped marlin 

Albacore 

Yellowfin tuna 

Bigeye tuna 

Northern bluefin tuna 

Japaneee horse mackerel 

Reef whitetip shark 

Mottled goatfish 

Whitetongued crevalle 

Grouper 

Swordfish 

e 

..- 

ePeti (car) 

Atulai (Cha) 

Hiting (G) L 

-- 

Palawa (car) 

Hiting feda (Cha) 

Sesjun (G) 

-- 

-- 

Sarau (car) 

Alu or halu (Cha) 

Alu (G) -- 

-- 

-- 

_- 

-- 

Manguro (Car) 

Kacho (Cha) -- 

- 

-- 

-- 

Bule-lei-lonlon (Car) 

Faf ahid (Cha) 

Gadao (G) -I 
25 

was that bait taken in tropical waters was almost never held for any length 

of time prior to use (Cleaver and Shimada 1950). 

and herringlike fishes were all extremely delicate and usually died within 

a day of impoundment. To minimize bait losses, therefore, the Japanese 

fishermen caught bait at night or during the early morning and left for the 

f ishing grounds immediately. The system proved very practical, because the 

baiting grounds were usually within a few hours from the fishing grounds. 

The tropical anchovies 

Unlike conditions in Japanese waters where skipjack tuna fishing was 

confined to the summer months, weather in the JMI was generally ideal most 

of the year for fishing. The exception was in November-February when the 

northeast trades prevailed and although it was possible to catch skipjack 

tuna in almost all seasons, fishing was slowest in January-February. The 

fishermen in the South Seas fisheries considered May-September the best for 

skipjack tuna fishing. 

In addition to all the problems encountered by the Japanese with bait 

With changes in curcatching, bait handling, and weather conditions, changes in oceanographic 

conditions also caused a great deal of apprehension. 

rents and water temperature came wide fluctuations in catches. In JanuaryMarch 1939, for example, abnormal oceanographic conditions prevailed over a 

wide expanse of ocean from Palau eastward to long. 1500 E. during this 

period, longline catches of yellowfin tuna declined and catches of bigeye 

tuna and albacore increased. 

and Ponape, the fleet experienced very poor fishing (Inanami 1941, 1942). 

The good catches of bigeye tuna and albacore meant temperatures in the 

surface layers were cooler than normal which in turn affected yellowfin 

tuna and skipjack tuna distribution. By May, when oceanographic conditions 

Feturned to normal, fishing for skipjack tuna improved significantly at 

Palau, Truk, and Ponape. 

In the pole-and-line fishery at Palau, Truk, 

The rapidity with which the skipjack tuna fishery expanded in the JMI 

from 1922 to 1940 is reflected in the catches given in Table 9. 

fishing intensity was reached in 1937 when the catch from the JMI reached 

33,060 metric tons (t) (36,442 short tons (st). The fleet in Palau landed 

42% of the total catch whereas that based at Truk produced 38%. The large 

1937 catch resulted from the operation of an unusually large number of 

fishing vessels (Table 10). The fleet was reduced in 1938 because of protests from Japanese producers in Japan and subsequent government restrictions on the number of vessels that could be operated in the JMI (Smith 

1947b). By 1940, the fleet was reduced to 132 pole-and-line vessels. 

Maximum 

The Tuna Longline Fishery 

Waters around the JMI had an abundance of not only surface-schooling 

skipjack tuna but also deep-swimming yellowfin tuna, albacore, bigeye tuna, 

northern bluefin tuna and billfishes, Istiophoridae. It was logical, 

therefore, to expect the Japanese to develop a longline fishery for these 

resources, but the historical accounts show that a longline fishery never 

really developed on a scale as the skipjack tuna fishery (Shapiro 1948). 

In 1931-34, several large Japanese fishing firms began to show increased 

interest in the deep-swimming tunas, and together with several research 

stations, began surveys to determine the fishing grounds and the density of 
26 

Table 9.--Skipjack tuna catch landed in the former Japanese Mandated 

Islands, 1922-40, in metric tons (Shapiro 1948). 

Year Saipan Yap Palau Truk Ponape Jaluit Total 

1922 

1923 

1924 

1925 

1926 

192 7 

1928 

1929 

1930 

1931 

1932 

1933 

1934 

1935 

1936 

193 7 

1938 

1939 

1940 

2.36 ND 

2.81 1.46 

9.10 1.76 

14.81 1.99 

44.84 2.16 

28.11 0.73 

26.49 1.13 

24.69 0.89 

258.00 0.90 

564.26 0.44 

1,309.73 ND 

1,762.30 ND 

2,516.00 4.19 

1,785.98 ND 

1,696.01 ND 

2,697.30 ND 

2,392.03 149.28 

2,086.99 36.06 

3,379.05 3.64 

ND 3.60 

ND 3.04 

1.56 5.21 

8.53 6.05 

42.41 2.76 

14.77 7.50 

228.90 214.50 

157.06 913.39 

548.12 1,097.13 

1,592.33 810.26 

2,144.46 1,883.36 

3,778.65 1,199.98 

5,390.99 3,002.43 

3,835.97 5,870.23 

13,774.70 12,433.53 

3,420.21 5,294.78 

3,548.77 7,639.63 

6,047.38 7,217.09 

131.45 4.50 

3.75 

0.11 

4.95 

0.11 

1.62 

0.15 

0.53 

6.38 

525.24 

534.18 

926.85 

1,202.46 

1,313.12 

2,695.84 

4,063.96 

1,495.58 

3,707.75 

1,586.30 

ND 

ND 

ND 

ND 

ND 

ND 

0.22 

ND 

ND 

ND 

81.26 

614.76 

172.43 

255.13 

229.78 

167.73 

91.30 

6.71 

ND 

0.51 

9.71 

7.31 

17.74 

36.33 

92.28 

52.95 

163.72 

469.51 

1,335.73 

2,816.45 

4,861.26 

6,889.40 

8,956.41 

11,722.30 

14,265.78 

33,060.79 

17,019.20 

18,233.97 

12,758.59 

ND: No data available. 

Source: Statistical yearbook of South Sea Islands, published by 

South Sea Government General. 

Table lO.-Number of fishing vessels in the former Mandated Islands, 1937 

(Smith 1947b). 

~ 

Port Below 20 tons Above 20 tons To tal Number in crew 

Saipan 34 3 37 6 30 

Yap 4 e- 4 96 

Palau 89 16 0 249 3,154 

Truk 47 3 50 8 17 

Ponape 18 1 19 586 

Jaluit 1 21 

Total 193 16 7 360 5 * 306 

- 1 - -- 

- 
27 

the population (Nakamura 1951). The surveys covered the area from the JMI 

westward through the Dutch East Indies and into the Indian Ocean.' The 

results were encouraging, particularly for the development of longline 

fishing for yellowfin tuna, and marlins, Makaira sp. (fkebe 1941). 

fishing grounds for yellowfin tuna in 1940 are shown in Figure 8. 

The 

It was the scarcity of capital for the purchase of large, wcllequipped fishing vessels and refrigeration equipment that contributed to 

the lack of growth of the fishery (Smith 1947b). 

were also in short supply, thus keeping longline operations limited to a 

few vessels (Shapiro 1948). By 1938, however, longline vessel operators 

in Japan became aware of the potential of the JMI's fishing grounds for 

yellowfin tuna and billfishes and began to send large vesacls of up to 60 

gross tons (gt) to fish that area. Catches of these large vessels on the 

fishing grounds around the JMI weregood, with catch per unit effort higher 

than those in Japanese waters (lat. 30"-40' N) and in Ryukyu and Bonin 

waters (lat. 24'-30" N) (Table 11). The principal species taken was 

yellowfin tuna followed by sizable quantities of albacore, swordfish and 

other billfishes, and small numbers of sharks. Figure 9 shows the fishing 

grounds for albacore in 1940 in the western Pacific. 

Experienced fishermen 

Table 12 shows that tuna landings were highest in Palau, which was 

also the leading port of landing for skipjack tuna. Although fishing could 

be conducted throughout the year in the calm tropical waters, the catch 

rates were usually higher during the summer southwest monsoons than during 

the winter northeast monsoons (Table 13) 

Other Marine Fisheries 

While the JMI of which the Northern Marianas were a part bustled with 

tuna fishery development activities under the Japanese, the fishery in Guam 

under U.S. military rule can be described only as subsistence fishing. 

Jennison-Nolan (1979) gives an excellent account of Guam's prewar economy 

and fishing, basing her review and summery on Thompson's (1947) published 

book. Briefly, it appears that some military policies fostered development 

of a money economy whereas others did not. 

example of the former is employment where approximately 25% of the employable males on the island were working for the U.S. Navy. 

Thompson noted that a good 

It was Thompson's opinion that the prewar fishing techniques on Guam 

probably derived from ancient prototypes. 

and with passing years this gear still persisted with only the materials 

from which they were made changing to any degree. Hand fishing was done ' 

mainly by women, who also engaged in clam digging, spear fishing, aud 

rod-and-reel fishing. 

'trap or weir fishing, the latter method being a licensed activity on Guam. 

Other methods commonly in use were the cast net for small inshore fishes, 

pole and line, night spearing by torchlight, narcotics for stupefying fish, 

and seine dragging for manahac or rabbitfishes, Siganidae. 

Hook and line were commonly used 

Men played the principal role in net fishing and 

In the Marianas, although the Japanese concentrated much of their 

effort in developing the pole-and-line skipjack tuna fishery, and to some 

degree, the longline fishery for tunas and billfishes, they also exploited 

other species in their effort to maximize harvest of the marine resources. 
28 
29 
30 

Table 11.--Tuna longline catch in three major fishing areas by vessels 

operating from the port of Misaki during 1939 (Shapiro 1948). 

AvoraRe Aver ege Average catch 

Number of ftshlnft daya tonnage Total. catch per fishing day 

Area VOy8gCR per voyage per vessel (t) per ton of veeeel 

Japanese water$ 

Ryukyc! and Bonin area 

Former mandated ared 

(let. 3Oo-4O0 N) 412 15 45 5,312 0.0191. 

(lat. 24"-30" N) 212 14 56 2,571 0.0155 

(lat. 0°-24' N) 2 39 13 113 R.470 0.0241 

Table 12.--Tunas, excluding skipjack tuna, landed in the former 

Japanese Mandated Islands, 1922-40, in metric tons (Shapiro 

1948). 

Year Saipan Yap Palau Truk Ponape Jaluit Tot a1 

1922 

192 3 

1924 

1925 

1926 

1927 

1928 

1929 

1930 

1931 

1932 

1933 

1934 

1935 

1936 

1937 

1938 

1939 

1940 

1.31 

1.25 

1.53 

1.40 

2.31 

2.91 

1.26 

0.56 

4.53 

16.73 

48.24 

0.31 

27.26 

42.92 

151.02 

88.88 

33.94 

34.88 

84.51 

ND 

1.24 

1.54 

1.48 

0.75 

0.38 

1.05 

0.76 

0.77 

0.46 

ND 

ND 

7.67 

0.08 

ND 

ND 

2.21 

7.40 

15.82 

ND 

ND 

6.75 

5.31 

46.80 

41.22 

152.83 

167.94 

92.26 

156.61 

137.62 

242.23 

278.88 

301.18 

213.26 

189.78 

73.13 

188.94 

686.57 

ND 

ND 

ND 

ND 

0.34 

0.14 

ND 

0.90 

8.53 

29.43 

5.18 

55.39 

55.39 

98.50 

178.02 

342.18 

101.44 

93.60 

46.62 

2.36 

1.76 

0.80 

2.54 

4.50 

6.58 

7.75 

1.62 

3.54 

4.83 

34.69 

41.42 

26.49 

23.50 

29.96 

56.37 

60.21 

31.58 

17.31 

2.40 

2.40 

1.34 

1.50 

0.83 

3.05 

1.29 

0.22 

2.37 

3.85 

135.72 

25.87 

31.36 

13.91 

14.85 

3.96 

ND 

5.14 

7.97 

6.07 

6.65 

11.96 

12.23 

55.53 

54.28 

164.18 

172.00 

112.00 

211.91 

361.45 

365.22 

427.05 

480.09 

587.11 

681.17 

270.93 

361.54 

858.80 

'Includes spearfishes. 

ND: No data available. 

Source: Statistical yearbook of South Sea Islands, published by 

South Sea Government General. 
Table 13.--Seasonal tuna catch by longline operations in southwest Pacific 

and Indo-Pacific regions (Shapiro 1948). 

___--.-------. ------_I_ _--____ I 

Southwest monsoon season Northeast monsoon meaeon 

- (summer ) (winter) 

Number of Total catch per Number of Total catch er P Area hooks used 100 hooks' hooke used 100 hooks -I_.__ 

Eaet of Formosa to 120'30' E 900 1.78 7,032 2.94 

East of Philippine Islands to 130" E 7,840 7.98 2,394 0.67 

Former Mandated Islands: 0"-12" N and 

South China Sea off Palawan 4,158 3.32 106,402 4.69 

Celebes Sea 10,493 8.86 146,663 4.06 

North of New Guinea and Solomon Islands: 

from 130" to 160" E 10,500 4.39 11,292 4.04 

Banda Sea: southeast and south of 

i3Oo-17O0 E 115,099 5.40 105,527 4.18 

Celebes 80,089 8.56 1,690 7.34 

Neighboring waters of Timor Island 2,215 6.23 46.546 9.33 

Southern coast of Sumatra 300 3.67 147,128 10.12 

'Includes yellowfin tuna, bigeye tuna, and marlins. 

Source: 

Nakanura of the Tokyo Central Fisheries Experimental. Statim. 

Data obtained by Japanese research and fishing vessels from 1930 to 1940 and compiled by H. 

Table 14 gives the 1941 production from the more important marine fisheries 

at bases in the JMI. 

SPonne.--Smith (1947a) gives a historical account of an attempt by the 

Japanese to culture sponge, Spongidae, in the Marshalls in 1939-40. 

Imported live sponges were planted at Ailinglaplap Atoll by the Japanese 

but unfortunately, absolutely no records were kept on where the sponges 

came from, how they were kept alive in transit, how they were planted, and 

the size of each cutting. 

Smith found that the plantinge were made by the natives under Japanese 

supervision. Briefly, the sponge culture bed had cement blocks as anchors 

from which a piece of solid aluminum wire was stretched upward and buoyed 

by a sealed beer bottle. Usually, 24 sponge cuttings were strung on each 

wire and allowed to grow. Mortalities, according to the natives, were 

minima 1. 

After conferring with the natives on the island, 

This sponge was later identified as fine levant or turkey solid, 

Svonnia officinalis, subspecies mollissima, which is found almost 

exclusively in the eastern Mediterranean (Smith 1947a). 

was considered a high-quality sponge and commanded a good price. 

At one time it 

-- Pearl shells.--Although the Japanese production of pearl shells was 

'exclusively from Palau, the black-lip pearl oyster, Pinctada marnaritifera, 

was widely distributed throughout the JMI. In addition to Palau, where 

this species was most abundant, specimens have been collected from Saipan, 

Ponape, Kapingamarangi, Nukuoro, and Likiep (Smith 1947a). 

Pearl culture.--The Japanese also attempted pearl culture in the JHI 

but eventually concentrated most of their efforts in Palau (Smith 1947a). 

Planting8 there were made as early as 1930 and at the outbreak of World War 

11, four companies were engaged in pearl culture. Production figures are 
32 

unavailable but in 1939, 17,783 cultured pearl were exported from Palau. 

Smith pointed out that this figure does not necessarily represent the total 

1939 production, because the finished product was usually accumulated and 

shipped whenever the Japanese producers found it necessary to do so. 

- Sea cucumber .--There were perhaps a dozen species of sea cucumbers, 

Holothuroidea, that were abundant in Micronesia and a few were eaten raw by 

the natives but only sparingly. During the Japanese colonization, five 

species were exploited to produce trepang or b&che-de-mer, the boiled and 

dried product used for making soup. The chief production centers in the 

JMI were at Truk, Palau, Ponape, Saipan, and Yap. Catch and production 

statistics are given for 1941 in Table 15. 

Table 14.--Production from the most huportant marine fisheries at centers 

in the former Japanese Mandated Islands, 1941 (adapted from Smith 1947a). 

Weight in kilograms. 

Saipnn Yap Palau Truk Ponspe Jaluit ____ Total 

Fresh bonito I, 2 9 7,354 3,308,160 4,346.259 2,424,260 169,020 11,545,053 

Bonito sticks 182,152 370,290 724,800 332,266 24,332 1,633,040 

Fresh tuna 33,669 906,150 24,150 12,768 46,356 1,023,093 

Tuna sticks 54,533 3,956 2,730 5,500 66,719 

Horse mackerel 4,014 1,896 1,613 7.559 14,830 29,912 

King markerel 5,767 14,092 19,859 

Fresh mullet 75 6,075 6,150 

Sharks 10,705 12.858 2,665 56,228 

Shark fins 150 22.028 22,178 

Other fish 288,688 bh,742 134,877 56,419 134,973 26,724 888,423 

White pearl shell *212,688 212,688 

Sea cucumbers (trepang) 2,117 3,136 9,556 14,486 9,172 38,467 

Coral 18.236 18,236 

Other shell8 - ',3,555 _Z!!?L!z? -2 35,tV. - __ 12,072 . . - 407.636 

Total 1,878,246 72,854 5,502,515 5,361,595 2,951,814 271,932 16,038,956 

Trochus shell 21 ,080 1 48,835 69,915 

Black pearl shell 559 559 

-______ __ ___ __ __ 

'No open season for trochus in Palau in 1941. 

'Pearling fleet based at Koror, Palau, but shells taken elscwl~ere. 

Table 15.--The catch of sea cucumbers and trepang 

production in the former Japanese Mandated Islands, 

1941 (Smith (1947a). 

I---_ .-___- 

Sea cucumber catch Trepang production 

Island (kg) (dollars) (kg) (dollars) 

Wet weight Value Weight Value 

~ ~ 

Saipan 54,284 678 2,112 1,109 

Yap 31,277 1,567 3,129 1 , 223 

Palau 154,788 556 9,536 3,181 

Ponape 91,529 458 9,153 3,829 

Total 850,242 5,177 38,386 14,899 

Truk 518 , 364 1,818 14,456 5,557 
33 

Trochus shells.--Although several species of trochus or topshell were 

common in the JMI, only one species, Trochus niloticus, found mainly at 

Palau and Yap was of commercial value (Smith 1947a). To increase production of this species, the Japanese carried out a program of transplantings 

between 1930 and 1937, taking samples from Palau to Saipan, Truk, Ponape, 

Ant, Mokil, Kuop, Pakin, Ngatik, Nukuoro, Kapingamarangi, Pingelap, Jaluit, 

Ailinglaplap, and probably other islands for which no records exist. 

Apparently, the transplantings were highly successful and collection of 

trochus was turned over completely to the natives, who were permitted to 

harvest individuals over 7.6 cm (3 inches) in base diameter during a 2-week 

period in May or June for sale to the Japanese. The shells were shipped to 

Japan for producing pearl buttons. Although no shell production records 

exist, Smith found that it exceeded 113 t (125 st) of which 91 t (100 st) 

came from Palau. 

- Sea turtles.--Two species of sea turtles--the green turtle, Chelonia 

mydas, and the hawksbill turtle, Eretmochelys imbricata--occurred in 

Micronesian waters but they appeared to be more abundant in the Caroline8 

than in the Marianas and Marshalls (Smith 1947a). In the JMI, turtle 

hunting was mainly a native pursuit and captured turtles were sold to the 

Japanese, The green turtle was mainly used for food but the shell was not 

particularly attractive. The hawksbill turtle, on the other hand, was 

mainly hunted for its shell; the flesh was not highly regarded as food. 

Post-World War I1 Developments 

In the course of World War 11, almost a11 of the fishery bases that 

were developed by the Japanese during the twenties and thirties were 

destroyed (Nathan Associates 1966). A postwar survey of the fisheries 

resources'of the JMI and Guam was begun as part of the general economic 

development survey undertaken by the Pacific Ocean Division of the United 

States Commercial Company, Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC), at the 

request of the U.S. Navy Department (Smith 1947b). The survey covered all 

aspects of the native economy and was concentrated in several islands in 

the Mariana Archipelago, the Caroline Islands, and the Marshall Islands. 

Among the islands surveyed were Guam, Saipan, Tinian, and Rota. The 

following sections deal with the results of some of the surveys conducted 

in and around Guam and the Northern Marianas and with the resurgence of the 

Japanese tuna fisheries in southern waters. 

Revival of the Skipjack Tuna Fishery 

Attempts to revive the skipjack tuna fishery, which thrived under the 

Japanese administration, were first started in Saipan in 1946 (Smith 

1947b). Two sunken Japanese sampans at Saipan were refloated, repaired, 

and subsequently operated by the U.S. military government. The sampans 

were manned by 26-28 fishermen who were paid only the regular daily wages 

established by the military government. Fish caught on the sampans were 

distributed free to the native population. This operation was short-lived, 

Inexperienced crews, inadequate fishing gear and maintenance facilities, 

and lack of dockside refrigeration facilities all contributed to the 

abandonment of the project (Wilson 1963). 
34 

In 1948, the Pacific Exploration Company, operating under contract 

with the RFC, dispatched two fishing vessels to prospect for tuna' in the 

western Pacific (Smith and Schaefer 1949). The MV Orenon, equipped for 

live-bait fishing, was sent to the Marianas and between 15 March and 19 

April, fished for bait and scouted for tuna from Guam north to Farallon de 

Pajaros and back to Guam. 

for bait along the beaches and cliffs of all the major islands in the 

Marianas, very little bait was found. Night-light fishing at Guam, Tinian, 

Alamagan, Pagan, Maug, and Rota was also tried and 1.4-2.3 kg (3-5 lb) of 

bait could sometimes be netted under the light, but these amounts were 

hardly sufficient for a vessel the size of the MV OrePon. 

Although much time was devoted to prospecting 

Among the islands surveyed, Guam was the best baiting area (Smith and 

Schaefer 1949). Night baiting produced 6.8-9.1 kg (15-20 lb) of bait per 

night at Apra Harbor, Port Nerizo, and Talofofo Bay, whereas day baiting 

produced similar amounts at places along the cliffs on the leeward coast. 

The species taken were mixed. Half to three-fourths of the bait caught was 

round herring, Spratelloides spJ, the rest being a small, unidentified 

anchovy. Smith and Schaefer concluded that the supply of live bait was 

uncertain but recommended further investigation. 

The scouting reports of the MV OreRon indicated that sufficient 

numbers of skipjack tuna schools could be found in waters around the 

Marianas to warrant the development of a commercial fishery. But because 

of the limited quantities of bait in the Marianas, small boats of limited 

cruising range were recommended. In 5-6 days of scouting, the MV Orenon 

sighted 35 bird flocks and 8 fish schools, 3 of which were identified as 

skipjack tuna and 1 as yellowfin tuna. 

Further exploration by the MV Orenon in the Carolines and Marshalls 

revealed the potential for skipjack tuna fishery development was best in 

Palau. Here, bait was plentiful and tuna school sightings were numerous. 

Smith and Schaefer (1949) recommended the use of small vessels for any 

fishery that may be developed, because they would have the capability of 

baiting within the narrow confines of many of the small limestone islands 

around which much of the bait were seen. A large tuna clipper might be 

necessary only if fishing were carried on outside the Palau area. 

Despite the promising outlook for a commercial fishery for skipjack 

tuna in Palau, the Trust Territory Government, working with a limited 

budget, believed that fisheries development should be kept at a level 

sufficient only to provide food for the Micronesian people. But it became 

increasingly apparent that the Trust Territory needed to develop its marine 

resources and the government saw that fishing, a traditional economic 

activity of the people of Micronesia, was an important source of jobs and 

income. 

The revival of the skipjack tuna pole-and-line fishery in Palau is 

well documented in reports published by Wilson (1963, 1965, 1966) , Rothschild (1966b), Uchida (197.0, 19751, and Muller (1977) 
35 

Japanese Southern Water Pole-and-Line Fishery 

The most dramatic increase in fishing effort 

tuna from Trust Territory waters since the end of 

made by the Japanese pole-and-line fishing fleet. 

Japan's southern water (refers to waters south of 

and catches of skipjack 

World War I1 has been 

The development of 

lat. 240 N) fishery stems 

fr& the realization that the skipjack tuna resource in Japan's coastal 

waters was nearing the limit of exploitation (Tohoku Regional Fisheries 

Research Laboratory undated a). 

southward was that the large available skipjack tuna resource in southern 

waters could be exploited during the off-season for skipjack tuna in 

Japanese coastal waters. 

A second prime consideration for expansion 

Figure 10 depicts the geographical location of skipjack tuna fisheries 

and fishing areas in the Pacific in the early 1960's. All the fishing at 

that time was confined to areas relatively close to the coastlines of 

Central and South America and Japan and near island groups in the central 

and western Pacific. From about 1962, Japanese vessels operating out of 

ports in several prefectures (Kagoshima, Mie, Shizuoka, Ibaraki, and 

Miyagi) and carrying live Japanese anchovies obtained from bait stations in 

southern Japan, began to move into southern waters along the Bonin Islands 

and Mariana Archipelago (Tohoku Regional Fisheries Research Laboratory 

undated b). 

The principal fishing grounds in the southern water fishery are 

divided into the Bonin-Mariana region, which is usually fished in JulyOctober, and the Caroline Islands region fished from November through March 

(Iwasaki 1970b). The expansion of the fishing grounds continued over the 

years so that by 1971 some vessels were fishing in equatorial waters 

between Truk and the Marshalls and south of the Equator from lat. 10 to 

50 S between long. 1470 and 1570 E (Figure 11). Generally, large vessels 

(>300 gt) tended to seek out the newer, more distant fishing grounds, 

whereas the medium-sized vessels (about 200 gt) remained on the established 

grounds in spite of poor fishing. Figure 12 shows the extent of the 

fishing grounds for skipjack tuna not only in the southern water area but 

also throughout the Pacific basin in 1973. 

Figure 13 shows the statistical areas established for the principal 

fishing ground in the southern water fishery and Table 16 shows the 

percentage of fishing effort and catch per day's fishing in these statistical areas in 1963-69. In general, the areas west of the Marianas and 

around the Western Carolines received the largest proportion of the fishing 

ef for t . 

The supply of live bait is an extremely important factor in the 

survival of the southern water fishery (U.S. National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS)) 05 

obtained in southern Japan and carried by the vessels to the fishing 

Presently, all the bait used in this fishery is 

5U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service. 1974. Summary of Japanese 

skipjack tuna fishing activities in the Pacific, 1973. Southwest Fish. 

Cent. Admin. Rep. lH, 5 p. Natl. Mar. Fish. Serv., NOAA, Honolulu, HI 

96812. 
3 6 

, ... I.. 

I. 

. . 

,. 

. /. ,. 

i. ._ 

I ~ !I , +-H-- 

. . . .: . L._. 

+>! 

'\ 

4c 

0 

\D 

Q\ 

rl 

C 

1-I 

d 

a 

aJ 

U 

0 

mo 

010 1-Iw 

wv 

05 v 

U 

a 

U 

I 

I 

3 

0 

d 
37 

1964 SEASON 

130 135 140 145 1507 

NUMBERS = MONTHS ( A ) 

1965 SEASON 

1966 SEASON 

I 130 135 140 145 150 

967 SEASON 

130 135 140 145 150 

Figure 11.--The monthly movements of the skipjack tuna fishing 

grounds in southern waters. 

encircled by solid line; area of moderate effort shown by broken 

line (Tohoku'Regional Fisheries Research Laboratory undated d). 

Note: 

Areas of intense fishing effort 

Numerals denote months of year. 
38 

, 

1969 SEASON 

Figure 11.--Continued. 
39 

1970 SEASON 

I 

20 

15 

10 

5 

0 

5 

~~ 

Figure 11.--Continued. 
40 

. ,. 

:::i::!': . I . 

I -- I+ 

: I . :L.J I I I '8 
41 

Figure 13.--The subdivision of the principal fishing area in southern 

waters from November through April (Kasahara 1971). 
42 

Table 16.--The percentage fishing effort (upper row) and the catch per day's 

fishing (lower row), in metric tons, shown by subareas as designated in 

Figure 13 from November through April (Kasahara 1971). 

~~ 

Season 

Subarea 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 

A2 

A4 

B2 

3.3 5.9 5.7 0.5 5.5 11.1 

3.2 3.6 4.4 5.4 4.1 0.2 

1.5 21.6 6.8 0.5 20.3 8.0 

3.1 4.9 3.6 5.9 4.0 6.7 

0.6 3.6 1.8 0.8 3.4 4.6 

3.5 6.1 3.9 5.9 6.6 5.5 

1.9 0.2 

4.2 2.4 

11.1 5.8 14.5 0.7 2.3 7.1 

4.1 3.0 4.0 3.9 2.4 5.4 

42.0 42.4 25.0 17.1 39.3 12.2 

7.3 5.8 6.1 5.2 4.5 6.7 

B3 37.0 3.7 6.4 12.3 32.0 7.8 23.7 

7.6 7.1 8.8 5.3 6.0 4.1 5.2 

B4 

C1 

2.5 6.2 3.5 6.5 

8.7 7.7 2.6 6.1 

1.1 

6.5 

c2 0.6 0.3 0.3 1.4 0.3 5.5 

9.1 5.7 9.2 4.4 2.8 9.0 

c3 

c4 

0.3 0.8 8.4 30.7 1.1 8.6 

5.6 5.7 8.5 7.2 4.6 4.3 

4.6 1.1 3.0 

10.8 4.9 4.2 

50.0 36.6 12.4 21.4 4.7 1.6 0.5 

3.4 4.6 3.8 3.7 4.2 2.3 3.4 D 

grounds. 

190-ton vessel carries about 370 buckets of bait whereas a 350-ton vessel 

can carry 500-600 buckets. 

Bait-carrying capacity varies with vessel size; for example, a 

Based on skipjack tuna landings data obtained at the port of Yaizu, 

Kasahara (1971) showed that generally, very few vessels fished the southern 

waters in May-June (Figure 141, reflecting the shift to albacore fishing in 

Japanese coastal waters. 

southern waters increased then decreased steadily until October followed by 

a gradual increase through December. The increase in October reflected the 

end of the skipjack tuna seaeon in coastal waters off Japan and the 

In July, the number of vessels returning from 
43 

entrance of many vessels to the southern water fishery. 

in January reflected the tie-up of many vessels during the New Year's 

holidays; the landings then gradually increased in February and March. 

The sharp decrease 

Usually, landings from the southern water fishery were high in 

November-December and February-March. Landings per trip show small 

variation ranging between 30 and 50 t (33 and 55 st). 

1971 fishing season, it was estimated that the southern water fishery for 

skipjack tuna contributed from 20 to 30% of the total Japanese skipjack 

tuna landings. 

At the end of the 

Figure 15 shows the number of vessels returning to Yaizu, total 

reported landings, and average catch per vessel in 1964-79. For the 

southern water fishery, a season extends from May to the following April. 

Reported landings of southern water skipjack tuna at Yaizu represent 

roughly 50-80% of the total southern water fishery landings (U.S. NMFS 

footnote 5). 

The landings at Yaizu have grown from 14,020 t (15,454 st) in 1964 

(Table 17) to about 85,000 t (93,670 st) in 1973 (estimated from Figure 

15). The drop in landings in 1966 was attributed to a decrease in fishing 

intensity as many of the pole-and-line vessels experienced good fishing in 

coastal waters and remained there instead of heading for southern waters. 

In 1968, a typhoon in the Marianas curtailed fishing. Furthermore, it is 

believed that many vessels fishing further west in southern waters chose to 

unload at the ports of Makurazaki and Yamakawa (Tohoku Regional Fisheries 

Research Laboratory undated c). 

Iwasaki (1970b) noted that the trend toward higher seasonal landings 

does not necessarily reflect better than average catches. He found 

considerable variation in the average annual catch of all vessels over 150 

tons (Figure 16). Iwasaki also found that in the Bonin-Mariana area the 

average catch per vessel was good in 1963-67 and poor in 1959-61 and 1968. 

In the Carolines area, average catches were rather stable; the exceptions 

were a very good season in 1967 and a very poor one in 1968. 

Recognizing that when the average catch per vessel in the BoninMariana area was high in July-September the catches were also above average 

in the Carolines in November-March, Iwasaki (1970b) indicated that it may 

be possible to estimate the Carolines catches on the basis of the BoninMariana catches. Iwasaki found that variations in surface temperature and 

catch per vessel showed similar tendencies in the Bonin-Mariana area 

(Figure 17). 

very poor fishing seasons. 

1967, and 1969, and fishing was good. He concluded that fishing conditions for skipjack and yellowfin tunas in the Bonin-Mariana area in any 

given year is largely influenced by prevailing water temperature. 

Low temperature in 1963 and 1968 correlated positively with 

Temperatures were relatively high in 1964, 

In areas where fishing is good, the Japanese pole-and-line vessels 

average up to 8.0 t (8.8 st) of fish per vessel per day of fishing (U.S. 

NMFS 1971). In October 1971, for example, the vessels reported that on the 

main fishing ground located near the Equator and lat. 80 N between long. 

1500 and 1600 E (between Truk and Kapingamarangi south of Ponape), the 

Catch was13-6 t (3.3-6.6 st) of skipjack tuna per vessel per day. Further 
P 

June Aug. Oct. Dec, Feb, APr. 

Figure 14.--The monthly average number of vessels, landings, 

and landings per vessel of vessels returning to Yaizu Port 

from the southern water fishery (averaged for the years 1964- 

70) (Kasahara 1971). 

IO 1 I 1 I I I I I 1 I I 1 I 

c. 

I- 

--E 

-0 

-Iv) 

WUJ 

UJW 

4 

3 

2 

I t 0 ~~~ 

1964 1966 196 

NO. OF VESSELS 

c 

'AVERAGE PER VESSEL 

- 

20 # 

-1 I I I I I I I 0s 

8 I970 1972 I 974 

Figure 15.--The number of vessels returning to Yaizu from southern 

waters, their landings, and the average landings per vessel for the 

years 1964 through 1975 (Kasahara 1977). 
45 

30 - 

Average 

Bur face 

temper- 29. 

ature (Y,) 

.28* 

21 

Average +----a Bonin-Mariana ateti (July-Sep tember) 

catch 

Per 

(tons) 

'OD' 

60. * Caroline area (November-March) 

50 

10 I 

9 

I* 

bo--- 

veeeel *a 

' 

Water temperature 

Catch per 

vessel 

50 (tons) 

- 4Q 

P.. . -- 

t -,--Q 0 

--* * - ---- \ y=y I 

I 0 \ . \# I - *I 

b' \ Catch 

& I I I * . s a - 30 

30' ' 1 A 1 - 

19SI S9 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 61 68 69 

Figure 16.--The variations in annual average catch (Iwasaki 19706). 

Figure 17.--Annual variations in water temperature and catches (Iwasaki 1970b). 

north near lat. 140-200 and between long, 1420 and 1480 E (between Guam and 

Farallo de Pajaros in the Marianas), the catch per vessel per day was 

slightly batter, averaging between 4 ad 8 t (4.4 and 8-8 at). 

Although mall, the landings of yellowfin tuna caught by the 

pole-and-line vessels operating in southern waters should be mentioaed. 

likawa and Warashim (1972) found that the landings of yellowfin tuna 

averaged 4.9X of the total pole-and-line vessel landings with monthly 

averages varying between 1.6 and 9.9%. The yellowfin tuna ranged from 0.5 

to 19.5 kg (1 to 43 lb) but most were between 1.4 and 2.3 kg (3 and 5 lb). 

Kikawa and Warashim also estimated that the monthly percent of fiehing 

days with catches of yellowfin tuna averaged 30.H with monthly averages 

between 16.8 and 40.3%. 
46 

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48 

Data from Yong and Wetherall (1980) indicate that the Japanese bait 

boat catch and effort in the U.S. Fishery Conservation Zone (FCZ) around 

Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands (Figure 18) fluctuated irregularly 

but showed a declining trend from 1970 to 1977 (Table 18 and Figure 19). 

The decline in catch and effort of the bait boats in the vicinity of the 

Mariana Archipelago is perhaps a reflection of the gradual expansion of the 

fishing grounds in the Japanese southern water skipjack tuna fishery. 

Kasahara (1977) showed that during the October-May period in the early 

beginnings of the southern water fishery, the bait boat fishing grounds 

were pretty much confined to the vicinity of the Marianas. By 1968, the 

bait boats began to fish farther south in the vicinity of the Western 

Caroline Islands and by 1971 had moved into the Eastern Caroline Islands. 

From there, the fishing grounds gradually shifted eastward and by 1973 had 

reached waters around the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (between Hawaii and 

Midway Islands) (Figure 20). 

Rasahara also examined the November-April period of the southern water 

fishery and noted that fishing during the early years was concentrated in 

waters north of lat. 100 N and west of the Marianas; however, by 1967, the 

grounds rapidly shifted southward and eastward to an area bounded by lat. 

30 and 100 N and long. 1350 and 1550 E near the Carolines. In 1971, the 

bait boats expanded not only into the Marshalls but also south of the 

Equator into the Bismarck Archipelago. By 1973 and 1974 the fishing 

grounds had extended into the Coral Sea and to the vicinity of the Solomon 

and Gilbert Is lands. 

According to a migration model developed by Matsumoto (19751, at least 

three groups of skipjack tuna, and perhaps more, are found in the northwestern Pacific (north of the Equator and west of long. 1800). The westernmost groups, one originating off the Philippines (NW1) and the other in 

the Marianas-Marshalls (NW2) in the first quarter, apparently move northward through Japanese waters in the second and third quarters, then return 

south in the fourth quarter (Figure 21). The third group (NW3) originates 

east of the Marshalls in the first quarter, then moves northwestward into 

Japanese offshore waters in the second and third quarters before returning 

southeastward to the area southwest of Midway Islands in the fourth 

quarter. These movements of skipjack tuna in the western Pacific, hypothesized from longline catches, generally agree with migration routes of 

skipjack tuna developed by Fujino (19721, who identified genetic characteristics of various subpopulations in the Pacific. However, recent 

studies by the South Pacific Commission indicates an even greater 

complexity in the subpopulation structure (South Pacific Commission 1976). 

Japanese Southern Water Purse Seine Fishery 

Despite the succeBs of the southern water pole-and-line fishery, some 

Japanese fishery scientists anticipated serious future problems of bait 

shortages. They saw not only the entrance of more and more vessels into 

the fishery but also the construction of larger vessels with greater 

bait-carrying capacities. In 1972, Yabe (1972) reported that anchovy used 

as live bait by the Japanese pole-and-line vessels survived for a maximum 

of 50 days, but more normally for only about 5 weeks. Therefore, even if 

larger pole-and-line vessels were built, their operating range would still 

be limited and their eastern limit would probably be around the Marshall 
49 

/ 

rollon ds Pojoror 

0 Alamagon I 

- Guguan I I 

. Sorigan I 

- Anatohon I I 

I llnillo . 

\ 

I 

Figure 18.--The 50-mile limits and the Fishery Conservation Zone 

around Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands (Yong and Wetherall 

1980). 
50 

Table 18.--Estimated catch and effort by Japanese 

bait boats around Guam and the Northern Mariana 

Islands, 1970-77 (Yong and Wetherall 1980). 

Year Effort in vessel days Total tuna catch (t) 

1970 

1971 

1972 

1973 

19 74 

1975 

1976 

1977 

1,944 

2,810 

1,766 

1,657 

1,442 

1,902 

794 

1,442 

9,534 

13,008 

7,406 

7,612 

5,005 

7,753 

2,663 

5,504 

10 - 

8- 

6- 

4- 

2- 

0 I I I I I I I I 

1970 1971 I972 I973 I974 I975 1976 1977 

35 

30 

cI 

25 

8 

4 

2oi 

W 

> 

15 8 

IY 

a 

IO g 

w 

5 

0 

Figure 19.--Estimated catch and effort by Japanese bait boats around Guam 

and the Northern Mariana Islands, 1970-77 (Yong and Wetherall 1980). 
51 
52 

Figure 21.--Assumed movement of the various stocks of skipjack tuna in the 

Pacific Ocean. The numerals along the migratory routes represent quarters 

and locations of high catch per unit effort cells of skipjack tuna taken 

by the Japanese tuna longline fishery, 1964-67. Stock designations are 

shown in parentheses (Matsumoto 1975). 

Islands. Yabe estimated that about 40 Japanese tuna longline vessels will 

be replaced each year by pole-and-line vessels and that within 3 years 

there may be many as 200 large pole-and-line vessels fishing in southern 

waters. Because of the problem of keeping these bait boats supplied with 

bait, Yabe encouraged more rapid development of the tuna purse seine 

fishery which is not dependent on live bait. 

Japanese attempts to capture surface schools of tuna with purse seine 

in southern waters started in 1964 when the Taiyo Fishing company dispatched the 240-ton seiner, FV Kenyo Maru, to the New Guinea-New Zealand 

area (Watakabe 1970). 

skipjack tuna in waters north of New Guinea failed. In 1966, the Japan 

Fisheries Agency undertook the development of tuna purse seining and a 

full-scale test was started in the western equatorial Pacific during the 

slack, winter months (early November through mid-March) in the Japanese 

coastal skipjack tuna fishery. 

Attempts to seine large- and medium-sized schools of 

Watakabe (1970) found that the purse seiners experienced a success 

rate of only 30% on the early trials near the Equator (lat. 00-50 N, long. 

1370-1400 E) to the north of New Guinea and near the Palau Islands. 
53 

Problems with variable weather, clear water, deep thermocline, and subsurface currents have all been mentioned as hindering the progress of 

exploratory purse seining in the western Pacific. 

The erratic behavior of skipjack tuna schools in the western Pacific 

was also mentioned as a cause of failure in purse seining (Watakabe 1970). 

Many of the schools in the vicinity of islands and banks were reported 

feeding on young sardine or flyingfish and could be seen breaking the 

surface and causing the water to “boil.” 

schools. Offshore schools appeared to be moving faster and often the 

direction of movement was unpredictable. 

four seiners operating in the Trust Territory waters in 1966-69 are given 

in Table 19. 

These fish aggregated in large 

The poor results obtained by the 

In the early 1970’s the semigovernmental Japan Marine Fishery Resource 

Research Center (JAMARC) assumed responsibility for the developmental purse 

seining work (U.S. NMFS footnote 5). During October 1970-March 1971, two 

seiners were chartered to continue exploratory fishing. Although these 

seiners captured up to 18.0 t (19.8 st) of skipjack tuna in a single set, 

most of the catches were smaller (Table 20). The conclusions drawn from 

these tests were that (1) skipjack tuna schools can be seined in tropical 

waters under certain conditions, (2) seinable schools were usually associated with floating logs, and (3) purse seine success rate increased if 

sets were made at dawn or dusk rather than during midday (Yabe 1972). 

Table 19.--Catch records of four Japanese purse seiners operating in 

southern waters, 1966-69 (Watakabe 1970). 

Vessel 1966 1967 1968 ’ 1969 

- No. 2 Hayabusa Maru 

- No. 2 -- Taikei Maru (3 trips) 

Skipjack tuna 

104 tons 

Yellowfin tuna 

31 tons 

-- Nissho Maru (1 trip) 

No catch 

- No. --- 58 Tokiwa Maru 

(3 trips) 

Skip J ack tuna 

80 tone 

Yellowfin tuna 

50 tons 

(2 trips) 

Skipjack tuna 

43 tons 

Yellowfin tuna 

5 tons 

(4 trips) 

Skipjack tuna 

146 tons 

Yellowfin tuna 

56 tons 

(3 trips) 

Skipjack tuna 

73 tons 

Yellowfin tuna 

102 tons 

(1 trip) (1 trip) 

Skipjack tuna Skipjack tuna 

60 tons 67 tons 

(3 trips) Did not fish 

Skipjack tuna 

Yellowfin tuna 

80 tons 

36 tons 

(1 trip) (1 trip) 

Skipjack tuna Skipjack tuna 

Yellowfin tuna Yellowfin tuna 

26 tons 53 tons 

56 tons 25 tons 

Did not fish (1 trip) 

Skipjack tuna 

81 tons 
54 

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56 

In 1974, JAMARC chartered a 499-gt purse seiner the FV Fukuichi Maru, 

which made three exploratory purse seining cruises around the Marbhall 

Islands and Carolines (U.S. NMFS 1974a, 1974b). During the first 2-month 

survey, the seiner caught 229 t (252 st) of skipjack tuna and 53 t (58 at) 

of yellowfin tuna, a total of 282 t (310 st) of tuna in 27 sets or an 

average of 10.4 t (11.5 st) per set (U.S. NMFS 1974c; Otsu 1975). On her 

second cruise to the southeast of Palau, the Fukuichi Maru found fishing 

slower. 

yellowfin tuna were taken or an average of 5.5 t (6.1 st) of tuna per set. 

The third cruise started in the Eastern Carolines (lat. 40-80 N and long. 

1450-1510 E) where three sets yielded 19 t (20 st) of fish. Heading to 

waters southeast of Palau, the seiner continued to experience poor fishing. 

Fourteen sets yielded 127 t (140 st) or an average of 9.1 t (10.0 st) per 

set. Toward the end of the survey, the Fukuichi Maru caught 20 t (22 st) 

in one set at lat. 20 and long. 1440 E. 

In 10 sets, 22 t (24 st) of skipjack tuna and 33 t (36 st) of 

On the three cruises the Fukuichi Maru set on 53 schools associated 

with drifting objects and caught 168 t (185 st) of yellowfin tuna, 320 t 

(353 st) of skipjack tuna, and 12 t (13 st) of miscellaneous species. 

Because of the success of Japanese seiners in setting around skipjack 

tuna and yellowfin tuna schools that were associated with drifting objects, 

Japanese researchers initiated studies on the possibility of aggregating 

tuna under artificial drifting objects (Otsu 1975). Preliminary results 

indicated that there is some merit in this approach. 

By 1975, the Japanese fishermen considered purse seining to be 

commercially feasible and several seiners began operating in the western 

Pacific and in the Coral Sea (Otsu 1975). Overall, the catches averaged 

10 t (11 st) per set and about 80% of the sets were successful in catching 

tuna. Data from 1977 to 1979, however, indicated that the catch per set 

has improved significantly (Table 21) and has been as high as 48.8 t 

(53.0 st) per set (Tanaka 1978). 

Compared with U.S. seiners in the eastern tropical Pacific tuna 

fishery, Japanese seiners are considerably smaller, varying from 250 to 

500 gt, and average smaller catches per set. The Japanese fishermen 

believe that they can achieve success under the following conditions: 

0 Schools must be associated with drifting objects (driftwood, etc.) 

0 Sets must be made either early in the morning or at dusk. 

0 Nets must be larger than those used in the eastern Pacific. 

When a school associated with a drifting object is found, a seiner may 

often follow it until dusk or early morning (Otsu 1975). 

drifting object with a radio buoy or lights, the seiner may track a school 

overnight and set on it in the early morning. 

Marking the 

The success that the Japanese seiners enjoyed in the western Pacific 

did not go without notice. United States seiners, faced with the fact that 

the yellowfin tuna resource in the eastern Pacific was fully exploited and 

that the restriction placed on the stock shortened their fishing season, 
57 

Table 21.--Catch data from Japanese purse seiners operating in the western 

Pacific, June-October 1977, June 1978-April 1980 (Tanaka 1978, 1980, 

undated d). Number in parentheses are averages. 

~ ~ 

Catch (t) 

Number Skipjack Yellowfin and Catch per 

Month/year of sets tuna bigeye tunas Total set 

June 1977 

July 

Aug . Sept . Oct. 

June 1978 

July 

Aug . Sept. 

Oct . Nov . Dec. 

Jan. 1979 

Feb . Mar. 

Apr . 

June 

July 

Aug . 

Sept. 

Oct. 

Nov. 

Dec. 

Jan. 1980 

Feb . 

Mar. 

Apr . 

May 

127 

70 

-- 

-- 

103 

70 

157 

124 

95 

155 

134 

80 

79 

150 

11 

14 9 

-- 

-- 

15-31 

(22.5) 

15-32 

(19.7) 

13-40 

(26.2) 

11-36 

(26.0) 

(31.2) 

22-36 

(30.0) 

(25.8) 

(23.9) 

(18.2) 

(16.9) 

-- 

-- 

10-43 

13-25 

8-31 

-- 

-- 

1 , 303.2 

1,487.1 

1,538.8 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

1,128.0 

1,544.2 

l1,566.8 

l2,926.9 

949.3 

1,132.8 

1,348.4 

1,135.7 

1,940.9 

2,420.4 

1,867.5 

3,166.6 

-- 

-- 

546.7 

836.5 

885.6 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

503.0 

682.4 

815.7 

1,336.3 

1,064.7 

941.1 

507.6 

457.1 

1,441.7 

1,014.9 

1,198.7 

1,339.5 

1,905.1 

1,391.3 

1,849.9 

2,323.6 

2,424.4 

1,022.5 

2,693.6 

1,783.1 

1,551.8 

2,813.6 

2,308.4 

2,025.6 

2,091.4 

3,371.0 

304.0 

3,300.4 

1,631.0 

2,226.6 

2,382.5 

4,253.2 

2,014.0 

2,073.9 

1,856 .O 

1,592.8 

3,382.6 

3,435.2 

3,066.2 

4,506.1 

15.0 

19.9 

-- 

-- 

23.5 

14.6 

17.1 

14.3 

16.3 

18.2 

17.2 

25.3 

26.5 

22.5 

27.6 

22.2 

-- 

-- 

11.7-27.5 

(17.5) 

(21.3) 

(16.0) 

10.7-18.9 

(13.3) 

(14.8) 

(13.3) 

(16.4) 

(18.0) 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

-- 

(21.0) 

-- 

(26.7) 

~ ~- ~ 

'Includes some deliveries by transport vessels. 
58 

looked to the western Pacific as an area with considerable promise for 

expansion. In 1976, the Pacific Tuna Development Foundation (PTDP), a 

cooperative enterprise among the U.S. tuna industry, NMFS, and the 

Governments of Hawaii, American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Marianas, 

chartered three tuna seiners-MV Avollo, MV Marv Elizabeth, and MV Zavata 

Pathfinder--to conduct experimental purse seining operations in the western 

Pacific (Figure 22). This venture produced not only catch data (Table 221, 

but also a wealth of information on tuna school behavior and on water 

characteristics in the western Pacific (Living Marine Resources (LM8)).6 

Among the recommendations by the captains and scientific observers were: 

0 Seiners should be in the 400- to 600-ton capacity range. 

0 Purse seines should be fabricated of light webbing, be 1,829 m 

(1,000 fathoms) in length, and 20-22 strips in depth. 

Fishing should be concentrated on schools associated with floating 

objects, either man-made or natural. 

0 

0 If possible, long-range aerial surveys should be conducted prior to 

the start of fishing operations. 

Japanese Longline Fishery Development 

Longline fishing for subsurface tunas in the western Pacific was 

reestablished by the Japanese after the end of World War I1 in the area 

authorized by the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers (SCAPI on 22 June 

1946 (Figure 23). On 11 May 1950, roughly 4-1/2 years after the war, a new 

phase of the Japanese tuna longline fisheries was launched when the 

Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Pacific Fleet (CINCPAC) and SCAP permitted the 

Japanese to send tuna mother ship expeditions to defined areas of the high 

seas adjacent to the Carolines , Marianas, and Marshall Islands (Shimada 

1951). 

Figure 23 shows not only the original area authorized by SCAP, but 

also the area authorized for inspection vessels and that designated for 

mother ship operations. 

refrigerated carrier and 25 longline vessels, was outfitted in Japan and 

began fishing on 17 June 1950 in Trust Territory waters (Figure 24) 

(Shimada 1951). 

The first mother ship fleet, consisting of a large 

In 79 days of operation in waters south of the Carolines (between 17 

June and 5 September) the total catch reached 3,683 t (4,059 st) (Shimada 

1951). 

tuna was by far the most abundant, comprising 50% of all the fish landed 

(Table 23). Next in importance was the bigeye tuna. Albacore, bluefin, 

and skipjack tunas comprised only a small percentage of the catch. 

Among the subsurface tunas in Trust Territory waters, the yellowfin 

6Living Marine Resources. 1977. Tuna purse-seine charter to the 

western Pacific, July-November 1976. Final report submitted to Pacific 

Tuna Development Foundation, Honolulu, 14 p. 
59 

.... ... 

- ....... 

........... 

. . - . .~. .

. .- . 

__- __ . ~. . 

- . 

- .............. 

---i ............. 

__~ .... ........ 

...... 

-- __ ...- ... 

\ 

P-~ - 

.. 

,’ 

.... 
60 

Table 22.--Catch of U.S. seiners, by species and size, in the western 

Pacific, July-October 1976 (Living Marine Resources text footnote 6). 

Skipjack tuna (at) Yel1owfin/bigeya tunas (at) 

Under Over Under Over 

4 lb 4-5 lb 5 lb Total 7:) lb 7.5 lb Total Total 

Apo11a 111.8 64.4 81.7 257.9 61.7 5.6 67.3 325.2 

Mary Elizabeth 55.5 31.5 47.2 134.2 52.9 24.4 77.3 211.5 

182.6 

Total 167.3 110.9 228.9 501.1 122.6 89.6 212.2 719.3 

Zapata Pathfinder - -.. - 15.0 1oo.o 119.0 8.0 59.6 I_ 

67.6 - 

Percent size 33.0 21.9 45.1 100.0 57.8 42.2 100.0 

Percent epecice 70.5 29.5 100 * 0 

-____I_ 

Table 23.--Total catch, by species, of the first 

Japanese tuna mother ship expedition, JuneSeptember 1950 (Shimada 1951). 

Species 

Quantity 

caught (kg) 

Yellowfin tuna 

Bigeye tuna 

Albacore 

Northern bluefin tuna 

Skipj ack tuna 

Blue marlin 

Black marlin 

Striped marlin 

Sailf ish1 

Swordfish 

Shark 

Others2 

Total 

2,074,929 

317,073 

29,655 

1,556 

3,161 

798,512 

21 , 855 

557 

12,773 

6 , 194 

405 , 982 

10,455 

3,682,702 

lIncludes shortbill spearfish. 

21ncludes Pacific barracuda , wahoo , and mahimahi. 
61 

I 120" 130" 140" 150" 160" 170' I 80' I 

Figure 23.--Horizontally lined border indicates extent of the CINCPACSCAF' authorized Japanese fishing area as of 11 May 1950. Broken black 

line indicates area authorized for Japanese inspection vessels. 

stippled border shows extension south of lat. 24' N 

Japanese tuna mother ship operations. 

Marshall, and Caroline Islands shows the U.S. Trust Territory of the 

Pacific Islands (Shimada 1951). 

Dottedto the Equator for 

Solid black line around Mariana, 
62 

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63 

Shimada (1951) noted that the catcher boats attached to the expedition 

experienced wide fluctuations in catches. The average catch per vessel was 

high when operations first commenced but fell to about 2.0-2.5 t (2.2- 

2.8 st) per vessel per day as the peak fishing season in May-June passed 

(Figure 25). 

grounde, 

waters adjacent to Kapingamarangi near lat. 10-20 N between long. 1530 and 

1540 E. 

encountered near Kapingamarangi. Based on current drifts, Shimada believed 

that the zone of good fishing was probably within the Equatorial Countercurrent and close to its southern border. In late August, at the close of 

the season catches fell to lower levels as the expedition shifted northward 

out of the productive area. 

The expedition moved eastward and found new productive 

In mid-July, the vessel had several days of good fishing in 

In late July and early August, some of the best fishing was 

Catch rates were 3.23 tunas and spearfishes per 100 hooks and 3.85 

fish per 100 hooks for all species (Shimada 1951) (Table 24). In contrast, 

Nakamura (1943) reported an average of 6.05 fish per 100 hooks from Trust 

Territory waters in prewar years. According to the fishermen, changes in 

hydrographic conditions were probably most responsible for the lower 

catches made by the expedition. 

After the initial tuna mother ship operation and until October 1951, 

eight others took place (Murphy and Otsu 1954). General observations on 

the methods, catch, and area fished during these expeditions have been 

published in Ego and Otsu (1952) and Van Campen (1952). Ego and Otsu found 

that the catch rates did not vary much during the first six expeditions 

(Table 25). 

species with 3.85 fish per 100 hooks whereas the third recorded the highest 

with 4.76 fish per 100 hooks. Van Campen reported catch rates of 4.47, 

4.04, and 3.55 fish per 100 hooks during the seventh, eighth, and ninth 

expeditions, respectively. The overall average of all species for the nine 

expeditions was 4.10 fish per 100 hooks. 

The first expedition achieved the lowest catch rate for all 

The subsequent development of the longline fishing grounds in the 

western Pacific resulted from the lifting of all restrictions imposed 

immediately after the war. According to Nippon Suisan Shimbun (19531, the 

SCAP boundary, also called the MacArthur Line, severely restricted the 

operating radius of the Japanese longliners. But on 25 April 1952, the 

MacArthur Line was removed so that Japanese vessels were no longer 

restricted. International complications with the People's Republic of 

China followed and the result was that Japanese vessels could no longer 

operate freely in Korean waters, the East China Sea, and the Yellow Sea. 

Furthermore, the North Pacific fisheries were also markedly restricted. 

Thus, the Japanese longliners spread southward into Micronesian waters and 

the South Pacific, and eastward into the central and eastern Pacific. 

In tracing the expansion of the Japanese longline fishing effort after 

1952, Rothechild (1966a) found that effort tended to be concentrated off 

Japan in the western Pacific in the early 1950's, shifted more toward the 

central Pacific in the mid- and late-l960's, and was largely concentrated 

at the longitude of Baja California in the southeastern Pacific by the 

early 1960's (Figure 26). By latitude, the expansion went from the North 

Pacific in 1953 to the South Pacific by 1963. 
- 

nom 

roo4 

WOC 

3occ 

bow 

5000 

ZOO0 

Figure 25.--Average catch of fish per day per catcher based on daily 

reported landings (Shimada 1951). 
65 

Table 24.--Japanese tuna mother ship expeditions, catches, and average 

weights (in kilograms), by species (Ego and Otsu 1952). 

~ ~~~ ~~ 

Expeditions 

First Second- Third Fourth Fifth Sixth 

~___ -- 

Species Total Avg. Total Avg. Total Avg. Total Avg. Total Avg. Total Avg. 

Yellowfin tuna 2,074,176 34 1,472,606 46 179,575 30 365,424 35 1,071,717 34 322,391 34 

Bigeye tuna 316,958 36 180,040 44 38,426 41 63,041 44 391,487 39 71,940 44 

Albacore 29.645 20 1,099 22 3,641 19 4,543 21 5,310 22 403 16 

Northern 

Skipjack tuna 3,160 4 7,562 5 560 4 228 3 379 5 1,152 3 

Blue marlin 798,223 59 656,594 68 32.935 53 133,856 60 298,916 59 95,896 51 

Black marlin 21,847 78 1.128 75 2,492 78 3.613 68 9,495 66 1,031 57 

Sailfish’ 12,769 20 5,398 14 1,432 18 3.903 17 15.877 17 4,907 18 

Swordfish 6,192 34 2,861 41 1,658 26 1,072 44 5,280 38 1,622 46 

Striped marlin 557 56 728 56 86 36 105 53 236 39 168 56 

Shark 405.835 25 182,582 33 16,794 43 13,111 33 174,971 30 18,936 31 

Others2 10,453 13 9,661 19 1,857 8 5 , 549 10 10,612 9 7,532 10 

1,555 156 -- -- -- -- -- -- 400 165 -- -- bluefin tuna 

Total 3,681,370 2,520,259 279,456 594,451 1,984,680 525,97e 

__ -- 

]Includes shortbill epearfish. 

21ncludes barracuda, wahoo, and mahimahi. 

Table 25.--Catch rates of Japanese tuna mother ship expeditions 

(Ego and Otsu 1952; Van Campen 1952). 

Number UT fish caught per 100 hooks, by expeditions ___ Average for 

expeditions Species First Second Third Fourth Fifth Sixth Seventh Eighth Ninth 1 through 9 

-I_------ __ 

-_ --_._I_ - 

Yellowfin tuna 2.28 2.50 3.38 2.71 2.24 2.49 2.09 1.64 1.40 2.14 

Bigeye tuna 0.33 0.32 0.37 0.38 0.70 0.43 0.93 0.80 0.88 0.62 

Albacore 0.05 0.04 0.11 0.06 0.02 <O.Ol 0.06 0.16 0.10 0.07 

Northern CO.01 -- CO.01 co.01 CO.01 <o. 01 bluefin tuna ~0.01 -- -- -- Skipjack tuna 0.03 0.11 0.08 0.02 ~0.01 0.09 0.07 0.06 0.08 0.05 

Blue marlin 0.50 0.76 0.36 0.59 0.35 0.45 0.60 0.48 0.75 0.53 

Black marlin 0.01 0.01 0.02 0.01 0.01 co.01 CO.01 CO.01 <0.01 <o. 01 

Sailf iehl 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.06 0.07 0.07 0.04 0.04 0.03 0.04 

Broadbill swordfish ~0.01 0.01 0.04 0.01 0.01 ~0.01 ~0.01 ~0.01 <0.01 <o. 01 

Striped marlin <0.01 CO.01 CO.01 CO.01 CO.01 co.01 C0.01 <0.01 CO.01 <o. 01 

Shark 0.60 0.44 0.23 0.10 0.41 0.16 0.57 0.75 0.14 0.54 

Others2 0.03 0.06 0.13 0.14 0.08 0.19 0.09 0.10 0.16 0.08 

Tunas 8nd marlins -- - -- __- 3.23 3.77 - 4.40 3.84 3.40 3.55 - -- -- -- 

Total 3.85 4.27 4.76 4.08 3.89 3.89 4.47 4.04 3.55 4.10 

Includes shor tbill spearfish. 

2hcludes barracuda, wahoo, and mahimhi. 
66 

Figure 26.--Percentage of reported total annual effort (numbers of 

hooks) expended in each 20" quadrangle (Rothschild 19668). 
67 

It was not until the enactment of the Magnuson Fishery Conservation 

and Management Act (MBCHA) in 1976 that the United States fishing industry 

first began to realize the impact of the Japanese longline fishery on 

stocks in waters around Guam and the Northern Marianas. Yong and Wetherall 

(1980) found that since the enactment of the MFCWA, the Japanese longliners 

fishing in the western Pacific increased their effort and catch of tunas 

significantly. Effort by Japanese longliners in terms of vessel days fluctuated between 288 and 1,040 in 1965-75, increased to 1,235 days in 1976 

and reached 2,076 days in 1977, more than tripling the average annual 

effort expended in the years prior to 1976 (Table 26 and Figure 27) This 

significant rise in the effort was accompanied by a similar rise in catches 

of tunas. 

range from 189 to 503 t and averaged 365 t; in 1976 the catch reached 

1,299 t or more than three times the 1965-75 average. In 1977, the annual 

catch increased to 3,366 t or more than nine times the 1965-75 average. 

The increased effort in 1976-77 did not produce any significant changes in 

the annual catches of billfishes. 

The 1965-75 annual catches fluctuated in a relatively narrow 

Other Types of Fishery Development 

At the end of World War 11, the agricultural division of the military 

government attempted to encourage seafood production by abolishing price 

ceilings on seafood, by designating certain men of each village as fishermen, by assigning exclusive trap fishing rights to single individuals, and 

by offering vessels for rent to the fishermen (Smith 1947b). These measures, however, were largely unsuccessful. Van Pel (1961) reported that 

the presence of the U.S. Naval Command on Guam in the immediate postwar 

years resulted in the availability of lucrative employment for most of the 

population. As a result, fishing was relegated to a part-time endeavor. 

The failure of this initial attempt to establish a commercial fishery 

in the island resulted in the gradual dependence of the population on 

imported fish, some of which were supplied frozen from Palau and the 

Philippines. In 1967, the Guam Division of Aquatic and Wildlife Resources 

began an intensive exploration of the grounds beyond the reef, which were 

believed to be inhabited by a substantial population of prime-quality fish 

that were almost entirely underutilized (Ikehara et al. 1972). 

In the Northern Marianas as in most Pacific islands following World 

War 11, fishing was an important daily activity. Smith (1947b) reported 

that the Saipan islanders consumed nearly 0.45 kg (1 lb) of fish per person 

per day and that there was a steady market for fishery products. In 

postwar Saipan, however, fish were scarce inside the fringing reef. Smith 

indicated that in contrast to this scarcity of inshore fish, the outer edge 

of the reef was well populated with surgeonfish, Acanthuridae; squirrelfish, Holocentridae; jacks, Carangidae; and parrotfish, Scaridae. Spiny 

lobsters, Palinuridae, were common on the reef at Maniagassa Island as were 

top shell and sea cucumbers. 

At Tinian, Smith (1947b) found the inshore area well populated with 

fish such as mullet, Mugilidae; goatfishes, Mulloidichthvs sp. and 

Parupeneus sp.; Pacific threadfin; and surgeonfish, Hepatus sp. 

lobsters, Panulirus ~pp~, wereabundant at night and could easily be taken 

by torch fishing. 

Spiny 

Along the outer edge of the reef, Smith found large 
68 

Table 26.--Estimated catch and effort by Japanese longliners 

around Guam and the Northern Mnriana Islands, 1965-77 (Yong 

and Wetherall 1980). 

Total catch (t) 

Year Effort in vessel days Tunas Billf ishes 

1965 

1966 

1967 

1968 

1969 

1970 

1971 

1972 

1973 

1974 

1975 

1976 

1977 

878 

535 

634 

699 

531 

1,003 

1,040 

613 

288 

610 

620 

1,235 

2,076 

497 

343 

2 96 

364 

308 

502 

500 

339 

189 

305 

37 1 

1,299 

3,366 

149 

106 

98 

102 

59 

2 06 

154 

75 

36 

149 

109 

136 

187 

Figure 27.--Estimated catch and effort by Japanese longliners around Guam 

and the Northern Mariana Islands, 1965-77 (Yong and Wetherall 1980). 
69 

populations of fish including parrotfish, Calliodon SPJ, mullet, goatfishes, and jacks. Octopi, Octopoda, were seen occasionally and yellow sea 

cucumbers were abundant. 

vies, Stolephorus sp., which were abundant under the bluffs. 

Smith also reported sighting schools of anchoAround Rota the fringing reef was only a few kilometers offshore and 

therefore provided only a comparatively small inshore area suitable for 

fishing (Smith 1947b). 

and gathered trochus, cat's-eye, Turbo SPJ, and spiny lobsters from the 

reef. Smith also reported that in May-June, large schools of a small 

silvery fish, 5.1-7.6 cm long (2-3 inches) called "manahag" were taken in 

large quantities by throw net and preserved with salt for later use. Large 

schools of this species (believed to be young herring by Smith),7 appeared 

annually at Rota and Guam but stayed only a few weeks. 

The natives there fished with throw nets and spears 

Partly as a result of the general shortage of labor in Saipan and 

because most of the islanders were employed first by the armed services and 

later by the Trust Territory Government headquartered on the island, fishing remained a subsistence-type activity and never developed to any extent 

in the Northern Marianas. Since the Smith (1947b) survey, several attempts 

were made to establish a commercial fishery but all of them failed, largely 

because of mismanagement. There also were other forces that presented 

obstacles. Lord (1979) concluded that economic development in Micronesia 

lagged as a result of American military policies which not only discouraged 

development but also prohibited outside investment. The result was that 

traditional fisheries and agriculture declined. American policies made 

Micronesia's cash economy highly dependent on grants from the U.S. Government. It was not until 1974 that the U.S, ended its prohibition on foreign 

investment. Among the industries considered for development in the Northen 

Marianas, fishing was recognized as having a major potential in the 

islands economic growth. 

CURRENT STATUS OF FISHERIES 

Guam 

The potential demand for fresh or frozen fish on Guam has been 

estimated to be more than 900 t per year (Ikehara et al. 19721, yet no 

commercial fishery existed on the island until recently when a fishery 

cooperative was organized. The supply of fresh fish, which is usually 

provided by weekend recreational fishermen who sell part of their catches, 

annually mounts to less than 140 t. 

By virtue of its geographic location near the Indo-Pacific center of 

radiation of species, Guam would be expected to have a more diverse 

ichthyofauna than the Hawaiian Islands (150 families and 584 species) 

(Gosline and Brock 1960). The fishes collected from Guam, however, 

includes only 94 families and 673 species (Kami et al. 1968; Kami 1971, 

7Smith's reference to "manahag" as young herring is probably in error. 

Kami and Ikehara (1976) refer to manahac hatang and manahac leso as 

juveniles of rabbitfishes, Sinanus spinus and 2. arnenteus, respectively. 
70 

1975). Jones and Larson (19741, who published a key to the families of 

fishes as recorded from Guam (prior to Rami's checklist of Guam fishes, 

supplement 11, 19751, noted that a complete key is not possible at this 

time because all of the families that are likely to occur in Guam waters 

are not yet known. They noted that sampling effort, particularly for the 

deepwater forms, has not been as intensive in Guam as in the Hawaiian 

Islands, resulting in a smaller collection. 

Guam's present-day fisheries can be conveniently separated into 

inshore and offshore components, each using different methods to catch a 

wide variety of species. Based on creel census data, the five basic 

methods of inshore fishing are hook and line, cast net, gill net, surround 

net, and spearfishing. Also included in inshore fishing are the catches by 

fish weirs. 

formes, on the reef with hooks and spear, collected various shellfish, 

primarily topshell, but also including strawberry conch, Strombus luhuanus, 

clams, Perinlvpta puerpera, giant clam, Tridacna maxima, spiny lobsters, 

Palinuridae, shrimps, Penaeidae, crabs, Brachyura, and harvested edible 

algae, Rhodophyta (Kami et al. 1978; Anderson et al. 1979; Jennison-Nolan 

1979). 

Inshore fishermen also collected octopi and eels, AnguilliAlthough the creel census data do not reflect the usual commercial 

landing statistics, they provide valuable information on the relative 

importance of not only the species harvested but also the type of gear and 

amount of effort used to catch the various species. Table 27 gives the 

relative importance of different types of inshore fishing methods and their 

contribution to the total inshore catch for fiscal years 1978 and 1979. By 

far, the most popular method of inshore fishing was hook and line with 30% 

participation in fiscal year 1978 and 42% in fiscal year 1979; however, in 

terms of catch in weight, the most important was surround-net fishing with 

35% of the annual catch produced by this method. 

Among the more important fish groups represented in the catches of 

five inshore gear are the atulai or bigeye scad and jacks, Carangidae; 

snappers, Lutjanidae; soapys, Leiognathidae; goatfish, and rabbitfish, 

Siganidae. 

surgeonf ish , s q u i r r e l f i s h , and parrotf ish (Table 28). 

Other fishes commonly taken by the inshore gear include 

For off shore fishing there are three major methods used-trolling, 

deep-sea bottom fishing, and nearshore spearfishing from boats at locations 

which are generally inaccessible to those fishermen that use other means of 

traneportation (Kami et al. 1978; Anderson et. al. 1979). The most widely 

practiced method is multiple-line surface trolling from small recreational 

boats, usually less than 9 m (30 feet) long (Table 29). The offshore 

waters of Guam abound in a wide variety of game fish including black 

marlin, blue marlin, sailfish, yellowfin tuna, skipjack tuna, mahimahi, 

rainbow runner, wahoo, great barracuda, and sharks, Carcharhinidae (Squire 

and Smith 1977). Anderson et al. (1979) also list members of the families 

Carangidae, Belonidae , and Xiphiidae in the troll-caught category. Most of 

the troll-caught species are seasonal, occurring in abundance in Guam 

waters only during certain times when their migration bring them within 

reach of the fishermen. Some billfish, wahoo, and tuna always occur in 

emall numbers in Guam and can be caught throughout the year, whereas 

mahimahi are usually plentiful in January-February. Yellowfin and skipjack 
71 

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Table 28.--Species composition of the catch by four basic methods of 

inshore fishing in Guam waters (Jennison-Nolan 1979). The Guamanian 

equivalent of the English name, when available,is given in parentheses. 

~ 

Surround net (lagua) Gill net (tekin) Throw net (talaya) Spearfishing 

Bigeye scad (atulai) 

Flounder (tampat) 

Goatfish (tiao), juven 

Jacks (tarakitos) 

Mullet (laigum) 

Needlefish 

Partotfish 

Rabbitfieh (manahac) 

Snapper 

Squirrelfish (suksuk) 

Surgeon f is h (kechu) 

Goatfish (Balmonetijos) 

Jacks 

Rabbitfish (hiting) 

Red snapper (tagafi) 

Silver perch (guaguas) 

Squirrelf ish 

Surgeonf ish 

White snapper (mafute) 

ile Mullet 

Bigeye scad 

Goatfish 

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Mullet 

Parrotfish 

Rabbitf ish 

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Barracuda 

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Ee 1 

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oc t opus 

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Skip j ack tuna 

Snapper 

Squirrelfish 

Surgeonfish 

Turtle 

Wrasse 

tunas are usually most abundant from February through August. 

importance of the various species in the monthly troll catch is shown in 

Tables 30 and 31 for fiscal years 1978 and 1979, respectively. 

The relative 

Bottom fishing, another of the offshore component, is also conducted 

from small boats either drifting or anchored with the fishermen using 

handlines rigged with a drop line to which 5-9 hooks may be attached 

(Ikehara et al. 1972). 

members of the snapper-grouper complex, the most important of which were 

lehi, "salmon" or uku, onaga, ehu, yellowtail kalekale, and gindai, (Kami 

et al. 1978; Anderson et al. 1979). Other species which contributed lesser 

amounts to the total harvest were black jack, twinspot snapper, pink 

opakapaka, yellow-eye opakapaka, pink kalekale, and groupers. 

Species usually taken by this method included most 

Spearf ishing is the least important of all offshore activities , contributing less than 8% of the effort expended and producing only 2-5% of 

the catch (Table 29). The major species taken by this method were the 

surgeonfish, jacks, squirrelfish, rudderfish, Kyphosidae; wrasses, 

Labridae; groupers, and parrotfish. Other marine organisms contributing to 

the total spearfishing harvest included green turtle, topshell, spiny 

lobsters, OCtoPU8J and an occasional giant clam. 

The creel census data collected by the Guam Division of Aquatic and 

Wildlife Resources have been expanded and used to estimate total fishing 

effort and the resulting catch for inshore and offshore fishing (Table 32). 

In fiscal year 1978, the best estimate of islandwide catch was 284,500 kg 

(627,322 lb) produced by nearly 22,000 person-days of fishing effort. 

estimates for fiscal year 1979 were down slightly in terms of catch, 

reaching 241,168 kg (531,775 lb) but produced with roughly one-third 

increase in fishing effort of 29,788 person-days. 

the 
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76 

Table 32.--Estimated fishing effort and catch in Guam, 1969-79. (Data 

from Kami;l Kami et al. (1978); Anderson et al. 1979). 

Ffshi.effort __.._ _- Catch (kg) 

Year Fishermen-hours Boat-days Person-days By fishermen By boat Total 

1969 

1970 

1971 

1972 

1973 

1974 

1975 

1976 

19774 

1978’ 

1979’ 

79.276 

67,584 

57,480 

58,675 

55,557 

38,649 

80,190 

67,713 

43,751.74 

-- 

12,918 

7,049 

4,054 

7,306 

8,694 

9,874 

12,286. -- 

-- 

-- 

-- 54 -- 

22,000 

29,788 

93,782 

66,784 

35,862 

15,586 

23.718 

28; 843 

84,492 

75,969 

5,828 

-- 

-- 

24,896 

5,724 

31,512 

11,099 

17,474 

10,613 

58,955 

93,782 

266,784 

277,374 

369,677 

383,829 

391,180 

3131,098 

86,582 

‘75,413 

284,500 

241,168 

lH. T. Kami. 

*Includes rabbitfish, Siganus ap., and fish weir catches. 

31ncludes rabbitfish, fish weir, and bigeye scad catches. 

4Date are for January to June only. 

’Data are for fiscal year July to June only. 

Division of Aquatic and Wildlife Resources, Department of Agriculture, Government 

of Guam, P. 0. Box 23367, GMF, Guam, MI 96921. Pers. commun., September 1981. 

A recent publication of the University of Guam Marine Laboratory 

(1981) provides an excellent working list of marine organisms from Guam 

(and the southern Mariana Islands for the section on fishes). Among the 

taxa included in this first edition are marine benthic diatoms (12 families, 83 species) by Zolan (19811, marine benthic algae (44 families, 220 

species) and seagrasses (2 families, 3 species) by Tsuda (19811, 

Foraminifera (28 families, 157 species) by Clayshulte (19811, hydrocorals 

(2 families, 9 species) by Randall (1981a), Octocorallia (7 families, 33 

species) by Randall and Gawel (1981), Actiniaria (3 families, 6 species) by 

Dunn (19811, Scleractinia (19 families, 267 species) by Randall (1981b), 

Sipuncula (8 species) and Echiura (2 species) by Edmonds (19811, Polychaeta 

(13 families, 37 species) by Kohn and White (19811, and anomuran crustaceans (5 families, 56 species) by Kropp et al. (1981). Other taxa for 

which a checklist is provided and for which a serious study has been made 

by a recognized authority are shelled gastropods (6 families, 91 species) 

by Eldredge et al. (19811, Opisthobranchia (44 families, 140 identified and 

356 collected species) by Carlson and Hoff (19811, Echinodermata (32 families, 96 species) by UGML (19811, and fishes (115 families, 801 species) by 

Shepard and Myers (1981). 
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4m.4 dr.m 

rlb mmm 

... 4N 

III 

4 

rd 3 
76 

Table 32,--Estimated fishing effort and catch in Guam, 1969-79. (Data 

from Kami;l Kami et al. (1978); Anderson et al. 1979). 

__-- 

_I__- 

Fishing effort __-- _- Catch (kg) -- 

Year Fishermen-hours Boat-days Person-days By fishermen By boat Total 

1969 79,276 -- 93,782 93,782 

1970 67.584 -- 66,784 266, 784 

1972 58,675 7,049 -- 15,586 5,724 369 ,677 

1973 55,557 4,054 -- 23,718 31,512 383, 829 

1974 38,649 7,306 -- 28,843 11,099 391,180 

1975 80,190 8,694 -- 84,492 17,474 3131,098 

1976 67,713 9,874 -- 75,969 10,613 86,582 

22,000 -- -- 284,500 

-- 29,788 -- -- 241,168 

1971 57,480 12,918 -- 35,862 24,896 277,374 

1977" 43,751.74 12,286.54 -- 5,828 58,955 275,413 

197B5 -- -- 19795 -- 

lH. T. Kami. 

*Includes rabbitfish, Siganus sp., and fish weir catches. 

31ncludes rabbitfiah, fish weir, and bigeye scad catches. 

4Data are for January to June only. 

5Data are for fiscal year July to June only. 

Division of Aquatic and Wildlife Resources, Department of Agriculture, Government 

of Guam, P. 0. Box 23367, GMF, Guam, MI 96921. Pers. commun., September 1981. 

A recent publication of the University of Guam Marine Laboratory 

(1981) provides an excellent working list of marine organisms from Guam 

(and the southern Mariana Islands for the section on fishes). Among the 

taxa included in this first edition are marine benthic diatoms (12 families, 83 species) by Zolan (19811, marine benthic algae (44 families, 220 

species) and seagrasses (2 families, 3 species) by Tsuda (19811, 

Foraminif era ( 28 families , 157 species) by Clayshul te ( 19811, hydrocorals 

(2 families, 9 species) by Randall (1981a), Octocorallia (7 families, 33 

species) by Randall and Gawel (19811, Actiniaria (3 families, 6 species) by 

Dunn (19811, Scleractinia (19 families, 267 species) by Randall (1981b), 

Sipuncula (8 species) and Echiura (2 species) by Edmonds (19811, Polychaeta 

(13 families, 37 species) by Kohn and White (19811, and anomuran crustaceans (5 families, 56 species) by Kropp et al. (1981). Other taxa for 

which a checklist is provided and for which a serious study has been made 

by a recognized authority are shelled gastropods (6 families, 91 species) 

by Eldredge et al. (19811, Opisthobranchia (44 families, 140 identified and 

356 collected species) by Carlson and Hoff (19811, Echinodermata (32 families, 96 species) by UGML (19811, and fishes (115 families, 801 species) by 

Shepard and Myers (1981). 
77 

Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands 

The present-day multispecies fishery in the Marianas is prosecuted by 

about 70 full-time and 90-100 part-time commercial fishermen with a fleet 

of small boats, 3.4-7.6 m (11-25 ft), powered by outboard motors (University of California).8 

larger. In addition, there are four recreational charter boats. Trips 

usually last about one-half day primarily because the bulk of the fleet, 

consisting of small boats of 4.3-5.8 m (14-19 ft), has only limited fishcarrying and fuel capacities and the fishermen who operate these small 

boats prefer to return by early afternoon to sell their catch before dark 

(Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands) .g 

make longer trips and occasionally venture to the northern islands in the 

Marianas to fish the more productive, isolated grounds , using a wide 

variety of gear including handlines, trolling lines, gill nets, and traps. 

There are 113 boats smaller than 7.6 m (25 ft) and 8 

The larger vessels can 

Other commonly used gear for fishing over the reef or along the 

shoreline includes beach or drag seine, stationary pole and line, spin reel 

and rod, spear, cast net, and surround net. Table 33 gives the names of 

fishes or groups of fishes that are commonly caught in the inshore and 

offshore areas, by gear types. 

Table 34 gives the monthly landings of reef and pelagic fishes in 

1975; Table 35 gives the annual landings, by species; and Table 36 the 

catch and percentage of catch, by area of capture for 1975-78. Data 

presented in Tables 34-36 have been judged to be gross underestimates of 

actual landings in the Northern Marianas. 

DEVELOPMENTAL POTENTIAL 

In the previous sections, we examined the historical accounts of 

fishery development by the Japanese in the JMI and the present-day 

fisheries operating in waters around Guam and the Northern Marianas. The 

growth of fishing in the immediate postwar years, however, has been slow 

but in recent years, there has been a resurgence of interest in fishery 

development in the western Pacific. It would be appropriate, at this time, 

to review the kinds of surveys that have been carried out in Guam and the 

Northern Marianas and to discuss the potential for developing certain types 

of fisheries. 

Apparently, opinions vary among researchers about the potential of the 

various insular resources to support harvest on a commercial scale. Smith 

and Stimson (19791, in reviewing the status of harvested marine resources 

%alifornia. University of California, Santa Cruz. 1980. Draft 

report on the social, cultural, and economic aspects of fishery development 

in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Report submitted to 

the Pacific Marine Fisheries Commission by the Center for Coastal Marine 

Studies, University of California, Santa Cruz; Michael K. Orbach, Associate 

Director. 

9Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands , Fisheries Development 

Plan. Undated, no pagination. 
78 

Table 33.--Some of the more important food fish species caught in 

the Northern Marianas, the area of capture, and the method of'fishing (Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands text footnote 9). 

~ ~~ ~~ 

Where taken 

Species Inshore1 Off shore Method2 

Wahoo 

Rainbow runner 

Tunas 

Mahimahi 

Marlin 

Snappers 

Surgeonfish 

Barracuda 

Squirrelfish 

Jacks 

Parrotfish 

Wrasses 

Mullets 

Goatfish 

X 

X 

lInshore is the area from the beach extending to the 10-fathom 

'Method: 

curve. 

and line, E = spinning, F = cast netting, G = bottom fishing or hand 

lining, H = beach seine or drag netting, J = surround netting. 

A = trolling, B = spearing, C = gill netting, D = pole 

for the Hawaiian Islands and the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, 

noted that some investigators believe that many of the species in Micronesian waters are unable to support intensive exploitation at levels 

sufficient for SigdifiCaUt commercial enterprises. The result is that 

frequent recommendations are made to restrict export fisheries. 

policy, according to Smith and Stimson, is apparently consistent with a 

U.S. Department of State (1976) document in which it is noted that the 

inshore resources are not considered suitable for major commercial 

exploitation because of limited productivity of the coral reef and the 

adverse effect of intensive harvesting of reef organisms which in many 

cases have territorial characteristics. The U.S. Government's position, 

therefore, is to adhere to a policy of limiting utilization of these 

resources to local consumption. The offshore resources, however, are not 

as limited, and development of skipjack tuna fishing was strongly 

supported . 

This 

Smith and Stimson also noted that there is, on the other hand, some 

doubt as to the validity of applying this type of rationale to all inshore 

species. Although it is certainly clear that some nearshore organisms are 

not able to withstand much fishing pressure, this is not unique to tropical 

island ecosystems. For example, the belief that coral reefs have limited 

productivity is probably unfounded (Odum 1971). Their high diversity, the 

cryptic nature of much of their fauna, the low concentration of phyto- and 
79 

Table 34.--Monthly inshore and offshore catches in the Northern 

Mariana Islands, January to December 1975 (data from Department 

of Natural Resources, Commonwe8lth of the Northern Mariana 

Islands). 

Inshore reef fishes Off shore pelagic and Total 

Month (kg 1 benthic fishes (kg) (kg 1 

January 

February 

March 

April 

June 

July 

August 

September 

October 

November 

December 

Total 

May 

401 

52 

246 

307 

169 

188 

202 

61 

33 

28 

53 

457 

2,197 

148 

7 80 

623 

701 

83 

96 

558 

69 

531 

25 

264 

4,181 

8,059 

549 

832 

869 

1,008 

252 

284 

7 60 

130 

564 

53 

317 

4,638 

10,256 

*Includes tunas, wahoo, mahimahi, billf ishes , onaga, pink opakapaka, 

and other'members of the snapper-grouper complex. 

Table 35.--Annual catches, by species, in the Northern Mariana 

Islands (data from Department of Natural Resources, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands). 

Catch (kg) 

Species 1976 197 7 

Skip j ack tuna 43,334 23,629 

Yellowfin tuna 1,122 553 

Dogt 00th tuna 2,069 1,134 

Wahoo 1,108 6,011 

Blue marlin 191 0 

Reef fish 5,381 17,970 

Total 53,441 53,284 

Includes tuna, wahoo, mahimahi, 

billfishes, onaga, pink opakapaka, and 

other members of the snapper-grouper complex for January to October 1976 when no 

monthly records were available. 
80 

Table 36.--Annual reef and offshore fish catch and their percentages 

in 1975-78, Northern Mariana Islands (Commonwealth of the Northern 

Mariana Islands text footnote 9). 

Catch (kg) 

Year Reef fish Off shore Total 

1975 2,197 (21.4%) 8,059 (78.6%) 10 , 256 

1976 5,381 (10.1%) 48,060 (89.6%) 53,441 

1977 17,970 (33.7%) 35,314 (66.3%) 53,284 

1978 2,804 (10.8%) 23,108 (89.2%) 25,912 

Total 28,352 (19.8%) 114,541 (80.2%) 142 , 893 

Ave 1: age 7,088 28,635 

Average value' $10 , 938 $44 , 184 $55 , 122 

lAssumes a static price of $1.54 per kg ($0.70 per lb). 

zooplankton in tropical waters, and the consequent lack of development of 

extensive beds of filter feeders may all contribute to low standing crops 

of exploitable species. Furthermore, as Smith and Stimson argue, if low 

phyto- and zooplankton standing crop are indicative of low productivity, 

then certainly one should consider some of the offshore waters around the 

islands of Micronesia as having limited productivity. 

There have been a number of research cruises in waters around Guam and 

the Northern Marianas either by the Cromwell or by foreign and domestic 

chartered commercial fishing vessels (Table 37). These cruises have 

indicated the presence of certain species and species groups that are 

potentially important to the islands' economies. Needless to say, neither 

Guam nor the Northern Marianas have a sufficiently large inshore area to 

warrant any expectation of providing fish in large enough quantities so 

that the excess can be exported. The exception, perhaps, is the atulai. 

Offshore Pelagic Fishes 

For many of the island governments in the central and western Pacific, 

the tunas represent the single most important fishery resource, because 

various species are available in their waters and are among the highest 

priced fishery commodity on the international market. Guam and the 

Northern Marianas are no exception; however, the development of tuna 

fisheries in these islands is not likely to follow the examples of other 

oceanic islands where bait dependent pole-and-line fishery has become 

established. Rather, because the pre-World War I1 Japanese experience and 

postwar surveys have demonstrated that there is no reliable, steady source 

of baitfish either in Guam or the Northern Marianas, other methods of tuna 

fishing, for example, purse seining would have to be considered. Trolling 

my also be suggested as a possible alternative, but a trolling operation 

Mill not provide enough fish to make it economically feasible for a commercial troller (Ikehara et al. 1972). 
81 

M 

8 

m 

0 

a 

8 

a 

J 

W 

U 

U 

n O 

e h 

m 

rl 

3 

t2 

I 

m 

a 

h 

u 

U 

m 

8 -5 M 

d 

so mm 

d 

4 

V 

M 

.rl 

Err rc 

0 

a 28 

.A u d 

Ir .!= 

dd a 0 ma 

m 

bE 

c 

m 

3 

rc 

Ir 

m 

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1 

V 

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t-r 

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82 

Guam currently serves as a transshipment point for tuna. This 

operation began in 1974 with a shipment of tuna destined for California 

canneries (Callaghan and Simmons 1980) (Table 38). Most tuna discharged at 

the Commercial Port of Guam comes primarily from foreign carrier vessels 

(reefers) or purse seiners; pole-and-line and longline vessels seldom discharge their catches at Guam. Figure 28 shows the general upward trend in 

the monthly tonnages of tuna transshipped from Guam in May 1974-August 

1979. 

Table 38.--Monthly tonnages (in metric tons) of tunas transshipped 

through Guam, May 1974 to August 1979 (Callaghan and Simmons 1980). 

1974 1975 1976 197 7 1978 1979 

January 

February 

March 

April 

May 

June 

July 

August 

September 

October 

November 

December 

Total 

NA 

NA 

NA 

NA 

299.46 

598.91 

644.20 

653.36 

807 I 62 

612.52 

490.94 

435.57 

4,532.58 

281.31 

113.43 

9.07 

226.86 

953.90 

423.05 

2,290.29 

643.56 

428.49 

1,099.91 

1,049.91 

707.35 

7,627.13 

1,118.06 

277.86 

576.59 

0.00 

519.24 

765.43 

661.07 

923.14 

790.11 

1,494.65 

2,157.80 

- 447.91 

9,731.86 

720.40 1,286.93 

954.26 671.60 

1,354.81 1,901.63 

1,785.30 1,341.38 

415.52 1,654.99 

655.17 975.50 

701.91 1,398.73 

756.17 1,364.07 

1,158.26 822.50 

1,518.60 1,056.90 

1,381.58 289.02 

1,222.87 2,257.80 

12,624.85 15,021.05 

1,445.01 

"958.33 

*1,546.63 

*1,226 52 

*283.75 

*746.96 

*278.27 

*1,053.81 

NA 

NA 

NA 

NA 

7,539.28 

Sources: Port Authority of Guam. 1979. Tuna tonnage [1975-781. 

(Mimeogr.); Van Camp Guam. 1979. Van Camp tuna transshipped from Guam. 

May 1974-Jan. 1979. (Mimeogr.). 

NA = Not available. * = Assembled from project data. 

Alverson and Van Campenlo stated in their fact-finding field trip 

report that Guam is strategically located with respect to future development of tuna fishing in the western Pacific by American seiners and 

trollers. A seiner making 15 knots can undertake 5-day runs in almost any 

direction into tuna-rich waters; to the north, there are the Marianas, the 

Bonins, and the entire eastern coast of Japan to the upper tip of Bonshu; 

to the east, the entire Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands; to the 

southeast, the Kiribatis, the lower Solomons, and the Santa Cruz Islands; 

to the south, Papua New Guinea and New Britain, New Ireland, and northern 

Australia; and to the west, the Philippines and Indonesia. For a troller 

with an operating range of 1,500-2,000 mi and an ability to remain at sea 

1°Alverson, F. G., and W. G. Van Campen. 1975. Report of field trip 

to Honolulu, Guam, Saipan, Truk, Majuro, and American Samoa, April 26- 

May 9, 1975, 16 p. 
83 

2400 ACTUAL MONTHLY TRANSSHIPMENTS -- - 

0 

e 

lw 

f 'i: 

Figure 28.--Monthly tonnages of tuna transshipped from Guam, 

May 1974-August 1979 (Callaghan and Simmons 1980). 

for 40 days, there are not only yellowfin tuna and skipjack tuna stocks to 

fish in the western Pacific, but also albacore in the North Pacific in a 

broad area bounded by the coast of Japan and long. 1650 E between lat. 270 

and 400 N. 

Data on bird flock and school sightings are available from three 

research cruises of the Cromwel1,ll from one survey cruise of the FV &. 20 

Akitsu Maru (JAMARC 19751, and from three U.S. purse seiners that operated 

in the western Pacific (LMR footnote 6). The results of these cruises 

indicate that the number of sightings are usually high during the summer 

and low during the fall and winter. For example, on Cromwell cruises 76-05 

(21 June-16 September 1976) and 78-02 (9 May-21 July 1978) and on the survey cruise of the &. 20 Akitsu Maru, the sightings report indicated relatively good concentrations of bird flocks and fish schools in the vicinity 

of the Mariana archipelago. 

ular interest because scouting was one of the major activities carried out 

during the cruise. The results of this cruise showed that in the area 

northeast of Guam, 19 bird flocks were sighted in 14 days of scouting, 12 

of which were described as medium to large and were associated with 

unidentified fish schools. West of Guam, the Cromwell encountered eight 

flocks in 7 days and four were described as large. Sightings in both areas 

were hampered by the presence of storms. In the area just to the southeast 

of Guam from long. 1450 E to 1800, bird flocks were very numerous, totaling 

49 flocks in 20 days or an average of 2.45 flocks per day. Eleven were 

Data from Cromwell cruise 76-05 are of partic- 

"Narrative report, Townsend Cromwell cruise 55, 21 October-17 

December 1971; narrative report, Townsend Cromwell cruise 76-05 (TC-721, 

21 June-16 September 1976; and cruise and narrative reports, Townsend 

Cromwell cruise 78-02 (TC-79), 9 May-21 July 1978. Southwest Fish. Cent., 

Natl. Mar. Fish. Serv., NOAA, Honolulu, HI 96812. 
84 

deocribed ea large and 28 were aseociated with tuna echoole including 8 

skipjack tuna, 1 yellowfin tuna, 1 mixed skipjack-yellowfin tuna,' and 18 

unidentified tuna. All of the 10 identified tuna echoole were large. The 

yellowfin and mixed tuna schoole, eetimated at 50-70 t, were aseociated 

with four and two fin whales, Ba1aenoPter;k phvsalus, respectively, and 

deecribed 88 "boiler" echoole. 

On Cromwela cruise 78-02, 68 bird flock8 were sighted, but because 

other mieeions had higher prioritiee, none were investigated. For those 

flocke obeerved close to the veaeel, four were associated with yellowfin 

tuna, eix with ekipjack tuna, two with mixed skipjack-yellowfin tuna 

echoole, one with rainbow runner, and two with flyingfish, Exocoetidae. 

All other flocks were associated with unidentified fish schools. On the 

one fall-winter cruise (Cromwell cruise 55) only 12 schoole were sighted 

near the Uariana Archipelago, one of which was associated with yellowfin 

tuna 

On the run from the Ogasawara Islands to Truk in July 1974, the 

FV &. 20 Akiteu Maru sighted 77 schools, 71 of which were skipjack tuna 

and 6 yellowfin tuna. The vessel fished 26 schools, catching fieh from 21. 

The 9 daye of fiehing produced 8,676 kg (19,130 lb) of tuna or an average 

of 964 kg per day (2,126 lb per day). Both skipjack and yellowfin tunas 

taken during the eurvey were emall, the former averaging 3.6 kg (7.9 lb) 

and the latter about 3.2 kg (7.1 lb). 

Earlier, it was brought out that three U.S. purse seiners conducted a 

euzvey in the western Pacific to investigate the tuna resources, seining 

techniquee, and fishing conditions (see Table 22). Data on school sightinge from theee eeinere are aleo of interest (Table 39). Of the 286 

echoole eighted in July-October 1976 by the three seiners, 43.3% were 

eetimated to be lese than 15 tons, 15.0% were more than 15 tons, and 41.6% 

were of unknown size. A breakdown of the 286 sightings further into echool 

type8 ehowed that 58.7% were school fish, 3.5% were associated with marine 

mammale, and 37.8% were associated with logs (Table 40). 

Data from troll surveys are also of interest. The survey by Ikehara 

et al. (1972) demonstrated the commercial potential of skipjack and yellowfin tunas found in the offshore waters of Guam. They found skipjack tuna, 

which represented 67% of the troll catch, available throughout most .of the 

Table 39.--Tuna sightings by school size and type, July to October 1976 

(adapted from Living Marine Resources text footnote 6). 
year but in higher abundance from February through August (Table 41). 

Other species caught in good numbers were mahimahi (13x1, yellowfin tuna 

(llX), and kawaknwa (5%). The Cromwell survey in 1978 produced excellent 

catches of tunas and rainbow runner not only around the Northern Marianas 

but a180 in the vicinity of the offshore seamounts and banks such as 

Stingray Shoal, Pathfinder Reef, Supply Reef, and two unnamed banks located 

at lat. 14O13.5' N, long, 142O53.0' E and at lat. 17O44.2' N and 

long. 142O51.5' E (Table 42). 

Table 40.--ToLnl tima siglitfngs by school type, 

<July to Ortnbcr 1976 (1,iving Marine Resources 

text footnote o ) . 

'Only sight ings where marine mamma Is were associnted with 

tunas. 

Baitf ish 

It W88 mentioned earlier that the development of tuna fisheriee in 

Guam and the Northern Marianas is unlikely to be based on pole-and-line 

fishing because of the undependable supply of bait. The results of two 

Cromwell cruises provide some evidence of the availability of buccaneer 

anchovy in waters around the Mariana Archipelago. During midwater trawling 

operations with the Cobb trawl on cruise 55, buccaneer anchovy was present 

in six of the eight hauls made and on one station, about 18 kg (40 Ib) of 

adult and juveniles were collected. Although it is mentioned here that at 

least one anchovy species may occur in abundance, considerable further 

research is required to determine their seasonal availability and abundance 

and on effective methods to capture, transfer, and keep them alive on the 

high ~eas. 

On Cromwell cruises 5312 and 78-02 (footnote 11) inshore observations 

indicate that, in general, bait doe8 not occur in sufficient quantities 

along the shoreline. Ikehara et al. (1972) concluded from their baiting 

operations and observations in Guam that scouting for bait along the 

island's shoreline is futile and that the most a fishing vessel can expect 

l*Narrative report, Townsend Cromwell cruise 53, 8 April-8 July 1971. 

Southweet Fish. Cent., Natl. Mar. Fish. Serv., NOAA, Honolulu, HI 96812. 
86 

In 

h 
87 

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m 

h 

I 

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U 

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uu 

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I I I I I I I I I I I 1 I"1 I pI"r-oYr- N4I"l I I I 1112 

I I I1 I I I I I I I I 14*Irldr-f-4i I1 I I I I I IlZ 

3 

0 

0 

3 

3 

m 

U a 

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m 

,n 
to catch would be a few buckets of young mullet, Mugilidae; soldierfish, 

Apogonidae; and delicate round herring. Data from scouting obsekvations 

during cruise 53 showed that at Saipan, only a few scattered juveniles of 

mullet, goatfish, Mullidae, and rabbitfish, Siganidae, were seen along the 

northwestern shore and one small school of sardinelike fish along the 

southwestern part of the island. On cruise 78-02 night-light observations 

indicated the presence of about 60 buckets of banded blue sprat in Maug 

Lagoon, 30 buckets of a mixture of silverside, Atherinidae, and round 

herring, Dussumieriidae, at Cocos Island, and 10 buckets of soldierfish at 

Tinian Harbor. None of the other night-light stations occupied attracted 

significant quantities of baitfish to the light. 

Amesbury et al. (1979) evaluated the abundance of several fish groups 

in terms of their potential as live bait and found no clupeoid-type fishes 

of the families Clupeidae, Dussumieriidae, and Engraulidae in Saipan 

Lagoon; however, Chromis spp. were quite abundant. The latter species are 

not considered ideal as baitfish for tuna fishing, but are adequate in the 

absence of more ideal species. Amesbury et al. noted that the major difficulty with Chromis spp. is in collecting enough of them without damaging 

the corals they normally inhabit. Other species considered were atherinids, Atherinidae, cardinalfishes, Apogonidae, and fusiliers, Caesionidae, 

but all were not abundant enough in Saipan Lagoon to provide a steady 

source of baitf ish. 

Atulai (Bigeye Scad) 

The resource of atulai or bigeye scad in the Mariana Archipelago is 

probably second in importance to the tunas. Several reports and observations have indicated that this schooling fish can occur in very large 

numbers (Ikehara et al. 1972; Cromwell cruise 78-02 footnote 11). There is 

a small but established seasonal fishery for this species which schools and 

occasionally enters the shallow bays and harbors in large enough numbers to 

be caught by the thousands in surround nets and with hook and line. These 

inshore "runs," however, are erratic; Anderson et al. (1979) reported that 

the total summer and fall hawest of atulai was 50% higher in fiscal year 

1979 than in fiscal year 1978 and that the estimated catch from various 

locations around the island including Agana Boat Basin, Apra Harbor, 

Umatac, Merizo, and Inarajan totaled 15 t. 

Atulai can be found off Guam all year long except in July-August when 

their availability is lower (Ikehara et al. 1972) (Table 43). Catches 

ranged from 0 .O to 9.1 kg per line-hour (0.0 to 20.1 lb per line-hour) and 

averaged 1.8 kg per line-hour (4.0 lb per line-hour), and were made only 

during the dark moon phases. The scarcity of fish in July-August may be 

related to spawning, according to Ikehara et al. who observed that 

juveniles of about 78 g (2.8 02) first appeared in the catch in August. 

Most of the atulai fishing was conducted with handlines consisting of 5-7 

hooks while anchored in waters from 37 to 82 m (20 to 45 fathoms); the best 

fishing was usually at 73 m (40 fathoms) (Table 44). 

The Cromwell's survey in 1978 substantiated the results of exploratory 

fishing conducted by Ikehara et al. (1972) and showed that atulai occur in 

good numbers in waters around the high islands as well as over the offshore 

banks and seamounts. Among the high islands, particularly productive was 
89 

Table 43.--Monthly summary of the results of handline mackerel fishing 

covering the period January 1967 to June 1969 (Ikehara et al:1972). 

Catch - Effort Catch per unit effort 

Average Total Number per Kilograms per 

Month Number weight (kg) weight (kg) Line-hour line-hour line -hour 

1967 

Jan. 196 

Feb. 707 

Mar. 1,675 

Apr . 1,158 

May 515 

June 488 

July 96 

Aug . 81 

sep t . 120 

Oct. 379 

Nov. 240 

Dec. 336 

Jan. 716 

Feb. 120 

Mar. 57 

Apr . 212 

May 1,418 

June 933 

July 16 

Aug . 503 

Sept . 728 

Oct. 228 

Nov. 150 

Dee. -- 

0.257 

0.223 

0.213 

0.206 

0.222 

0.232 

0.212 

0.146 

0.151 

0.266 

0.287 

0.298 

0.260 

0.227 

0.198 

0.248 

0.253 

0.244 

0.225 

0.078 

0.091 

0.119 

0.109 

50.3 

157.8 

357.0 

239.0 

114.3 

113.4 

20.4 

11.8 

18. I 

100.7 

68.9 

100.2 

1968 

186.4 

27.2 

11.3 

52.6 

359.3 

227.3 

3.6 

39.0 

66.2 

27.2 

16.3 

-- 

37 

129 

120 

86 

85 

45 

32 

32 

23 

68 

32 

90 

95 

45 

18 

48 

102 

66 

6 

29 

16 

20 

6 

5.3 

5.5 

14.0 

13.5 

6.1 

10.9 

3.0 

2.5 

5.2 

5.6 

7.5 

3.7 

7.5 

2.7 

3.2 

4.4 

13.9 

14.1 

2.7 

17.3 

45.5 

11.4 

25.0 

1.4 

1.2 

3.0 

2.8 

1.3 

2.5 

0.6 

0.4 

0.8 

1.5 

2.2 

1.1 

2.0 

0.6 

0.6 

1.1 

3.5 

3.4 

0.6 

1.3 

4.1 

1.4 

2.7 

-- 

1969 

June 304 0.227 68.9 22 13.8 3.1 

Total 11,376 -- 2,436.6 1,252 244.3 43.2 

-____ -__- -_ 

x = 10.2 2 = 1.8 
90 

Table 44.--Mackerel catch results by depth of anchorage 

(Ikehara et al. 1972). 

Number of Kilograms per 

Depth (m)' Catch (kg) 1 ine - hou r s line-hours 

36.6-43.9 

45.8-53.1 

54.9-62.2 

64.0-71- 4 

73.2-80.5 

82.4-89 - 7 

91.5-98.8 

100.6-108.0 

109.8-117.1 

119.0-126.3 

128.1-135.4 

137.2-144.6 

146.4-153.7 

155.6-162.9 

164.7-172.0 

173.8-181.2 

183.0-190.3 

192.2-199.5 

201.3-208.6 

129.3 

129.7 

317.5 

545.2 

136.1 

824.2 

14.5 

0.0 

90.7 

0.0 

9.1 

-- 

-- 

2.3 

56.2 

114.3 

-- 

93 

74 

90 

2 83 

29 

446 

12 

5 

27 

4 

18 

1.4 

1.8 

3.5 

1.9 

4.7 

1.8 

1.2 

0.0 

3.4 

0.0 

0.5 

'Depth in meters converted from the original 5-fathom depth 

intervals. 

Agrihan in the Northern Marianas; highly productive banks were Galvez 

Banks, located about 22 nmi southwest of Guam; Arakane Reef, located about 

180 nmi due west of Saivan; Pathfinder Reef, located about 152 mi due west 

of Anatahan; and an unnamed bank at lat. 17044.2' N and long. 142051.5' E, 

about 180 mi due west of Alamagan (Table 45). 

Bottom Fish 

In addition to bigeye scad, other species identified as having good 

developmental potential in a handline bottom fish fishery included onaga, 

lehi, an unidentified grouper, Epinephelus sp., blackjack, gindai, and 

yellowtail kalekale (Ikehara et al. 1972) (Table 46). Ehu, pink kalekale, 

and yellow-eye opakapaka also occurred in good numbers but were less 

desirable because of their small size. Grounds that were sufficiently 

productive and potentially capable of supporting commercial exploitation 

included 45-Degree Bank, 17-Mile Bank, Haputo, Galvez Banks, Ritidian 

Point, and Pati Point (Table 47). The most consistently productive bottom 

fishing grounds were in depths between 148 and 220 m (80 and 120 fathoms) 

(Table 48). Larger individuals of onaga, lehi, and groupers appeared to be 

concentrated at depths from 221 to 293 m (121 to 160 fathoms). Of interest 

is the resu1t.s of the intensive fishing experiment reported by Ikehara et 
91 

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92 

Table 46.--Rank of the more important fish species caught over the period 

January 1967 through June 1969, by weight and number (adapted from Ikehara 

et al. 1972). 

Weight 

Species (kg) Species Number 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

6. 

7. 

8. 

9. 

10. 

11. 

12. 

13. 

14. 

15. 

16. 

17. 

18. 

Mackerel 

Onaga 

Lehi 

Large grouper, 

Blackjack 

Gindai 

Yellowtail kalekale 

Red snapper 

Skipjack tuna 

Yellowfin tuna 

Dogt 00th tuna 

Pink opakapaka 

Ehu 

Amberjack, Seriola sp. 

Mahimahi 

Yellow-eye opakapaka 

Rainbow runner 

Pink kalekale 

Epinephelus sp . 

2,428 

1,959 

1,471 

1,001 

5 14 

450 

440 

415 

381 

36 7 

330 

318 

25 7 

240 

2 17 

17 8 

15 7 

12 7 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

6. 

7. 

8. 

9. 

10. 

11. 

12. 

13. 

14. 

15. 

16. 

17. 

18. 

Mackerel 11,376 

Yellowtail kalekale 681 

Gindai 4 83 

Lehi 381 

Qnaga 

Skip j ack tuna 

Ehu 

Blackjack 

Pink kalekale 

Pink opakapaka 

Yellow-eye opakapaka 

Rainbow runner 

Red snapper 

Amberjack, Seriola sp. 

Mahimahi 

Jack, Caranx helvolus 

Yellowfin tuna 

Dogtooth tuna 

3 16 

231 

208 

194 

173 

161 

155 

133 

62 

59 

52 

49 

39 

36 

al. 

was found to be highly susceptible to overfishing (Table 49). 

A small pinnacle such as Haputo, which appeared to concentrate fish, 

In 1976, the Government of the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas 

entered into a joint venture with Japan's Kanagawa Prefecture to survey 

some of the islands for bottom fish, skipjack tuna, and deep-swimming 

tunas such as yellowfin, bigeye, and albacore. The survey, conducted on 

the FV Daikatsu Maru and concentrated mostly around Aguijan, Tinian, 

Saipan, Pagan, Agrihan, Asuncion, and Maug, revealed that ehu, pink 

kalekale, lehi, northern bluefin tuna, dogtooth tuna, and jack occurred in 

good numbers in most of the areas surveyed (Ikeda).13 Particularly 

productive were Aguijan, Pagan, Asuncion, and Maug; Tinian, Saipan, and 

Agrihan were less productive (Table 50). 

one of the recommendations was to continue the exploratory fishing to 

obtain additional information. 

However, the survey was brief and 

131Leda, Y. Undated. Fishing survey report of waters surrounding the 

Mariana Islands, fisheries situation and on-the-spot survey reports in 

Saipan, Tinian and Rota Island. Fish. Sect. Agric. Div., Kanagawa Pref., 

18 p. (Mimeogr.) 
93 

Table 47.--Handline bottom fishing catch results by areas 

(Ikehara et al. 1972). 

Catch per unit effort Catch Number of 

Area (kg) line. hours Kilograms per line-hour 

45 Degree Bank 

17-Mile Bank 

Lafac Point 

Haputo 

Ritidian Point 

Inaraj an 

Galvez Banks 

Pati Point 

Babi Island 

As an 

Tar ague 

Anae Island 

Facpi Point 

Ana0 Point 

Umatac 

Adelupe Point 

Cette Bay 

Orote 

Uruno 

Hospital Point 

Two Lovers Leap 

Merizo - Cocos Islands 

Togcha 

Camel Rock 

Mobil Oil 

Rota Bank 

1,161 

254 

,19 

3,322 

90 

3.6 

488 

220 

13 0 

64 

515 

36 3 

245 

11.3 

710 

59 

64 

461 

37.2 

18.1 

23.6 

215 

2.3 

8.2 

1.4 

2.7 

86 

22 

3 

6 84 

24 

1 

138 

75 

45 

23 

202 

152 

109 

5 

34 6 

30 

36 

312 

26 

13 

17 

188 

2 

9 

2 

11 

13.5 

11.5 

6.3 

4.9 

3.8 

3.6 

3.5 

2.9 

2.9 

2.8 

2.5 

2.4 

2.2 

2.3 

2.1 

2.0 

1.8 

1.5 

1.4 

1.4 

1.4 

1.1 

1.2 

0.9 

0.7 

0.2 

Table 48.--Handline bottom fishing catch results by depth 

(Ikehara et al. 1972). 

Number of Kilograms Number Kilograms per Number per 

Depth (m) line hours caught caught 1 ine -hou r line-hour 

Shallow 

Intermediate 

Medium-deep 

Deep 

(0-73) 43 228 20 7 5.3 4.8 

(75-146) 333-112 1,001 495 3.0 1.5 

(148-220) 1,501-1/2 5 , 383 1,774 3.6 1.2 

(221-29 3) 65-112 364 73 5.6 1.1 
94 

Table 49.--Iisputo (178-m pinnacle) bottom hondlining catch results 

by month (Ikchnrn et al. 1972). 

Numbar of Kilograms Kilograms per Number Number per 

Month Ilne hours caught line-hour caught line-hour 

Juna 18 244 13.8 

July 50-1/2 369 7.3 

Aq. 153-1/2 l, 568 10.2 

SC! p t , 33 38 1.2 

Dcc. 78-1/2 264 3.4 

Oct * 13 32 2.5 

Nov. -c -- -- 

.I it11 I 

I'cb. 

Mar. 

Apr, 

May 

.J unc? 

Jtl 'Ly 

Aiig. 

SopL. 

Oct. 

78-1/2 

6 4 

23 

30 

28 

46 

40 

4 

-- 

-- 

14 3 

233 

40 

38 

92 

49 

52 

0 

-- 

-- 

1.8 

3.6 

1.7 

1.3 

3.3 

1.1 

1.3 

0.0 

-- 

-- 

34 1.9 

85 1.7 

318 2.1 

20 0.6 

6 0.5 

56 0.7 

-- -- 

62 

91 

19 

28 

13 

22 

14 

0 

-- 

-- 

0.8 

1.4 

0.8 

0.9 

0.5 

0.5 

0.4 

0.0 

-- 

-- 

.c 40.--Thc number of dtiys flehed, total catch, and catch per day 

ng tlic bottam flclrli strrvcy conducted by the FV Daikatsu Maru in 

Nortlwrn blnrl mas, 1976 (Ikcda tcaxl: footnote 13). 

I A I and Dnyx fislwd Total catch (kg) Catch per day (kg) 

.ll_-l----l-----_------ 

1,730 

500 

300 

2,000 

500 

1,500 

2,000 

577 

250 

300 

66 7 

500 

750 

- 500 

16 8,530 533 
95 

The results of bottom fishing stations occupied during the 1978 

Gromwell survey demonstrated that like bigeye scad, the fishes of'the 

enapper-grouper complex occurred in good numbers not only along the high 

islands but also in waters over the offshore reefs and banks. 

early phase of the cruise when most of the operations were concentrated 

around the off shore banks and reef s, handline catches were relatively good; 

however, a8 the cruise progressed and operations shifted to waters around 

the high islands, it became quite apparent that the catch rates began 

falling off rather sharply (Table SI). 

banks varied from 0.25 to 3.70 fish per line-hour and averaged 1.89 whereas 

around the high islands, they varied between 0.27 and 5.75 fish per linehour but averaged only 1.03. The largest catch at one station occurred at 

the unnamed bank 180 nmi due west of Alamagan where fishing in 110-256 m 

(60-140 fathoms) of water with four lines produced 37 fish, mostly gindai. 

The species most frequently landed from around the offshore banks were 

gindai, black ulua, pink opakapaka, and yellowtail kalekale. 

the high islands, gindai still dominated the catch followed closely by 

yellowtail kalekale. 

During the 

Catch rates around the offshore 

From around 

In a report prepared for the Western Pacific Regional Fishery 

Management Council, Balstonl4 analyzed estimated landings of bottom fish 

caught by Guam's recreational fishermen and found that catches in some 

years fluctuated very widely (Figure 29). 

bottom fish catches were less than 2,270 kg (5,000 lb) in fiscal year 1969- 

70 but rose very abruptly to 13,600 kg (29,990 lb) in fiscal year 1971 then 

declined to its former level from fiscal years 1972 through 1976. In 

fiscal year 1977, it again rose precipitously to 17,719 kg (39,071 lb) then 

declined slightly in fiscal year 1978 to about 13,189 kg (29,083 lb). 

Using boat-hour as a measure of effort, Ralston demonstrated that the estimates of catch per unit effort of Guam's bottom fishes do not show any 

trends over the fiscal years 1969 through 1978 (Figure 301, which would 

indicate either annual changes in catchability or in stock abundance due to 

the effects of fishing. It is also apparent that changes in the catch per 

boat-hour are not associated with changes in fishing intensity (boat-hours) 

(Figure 311, but that the total catch is significantly correlated with 

fishing intensity (Figure 32). Ralston concluded that the present level of 

fishing is apparently negligible; therefore, further increases in yield are 

possible by increasing effort. 

fishery-related changes in bottom fish apparent abundance, Ralston 

suggested that a more meaningful or refined measure of effort may show that 

the fishery was substantially affecting abundance. 

For example, he noted that the 

Although his study did not detect any 

Caridean Shrimp 

During the past decade, there has been considerable interest in the 

deepwater shrimp species belonging to the Tribe Caridea, Family Pandalidae. 

The biology of caridean shrimps is not well known and only a few commercially harvested species have been researched. Most are deepwater benthic 

l4Ralston, S. 1979. A description of the bottomfish fisheries of 

Hawaii, American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Marianas. Report submitted 

to the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council, Honolulu, HI 

96813, 102 p. 
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FISCAL YEAR 

Figure 29.--Estimated annual landings of bottom fishes from the 

waters around Guam (Ralston text footnote 14). 

IO I I I 1 I I I I I I 

O' 15369 Id70 19171 I&? 19173 1l74 Id75 Id76 1477 1478 

FISCAL YEAR 

Figure 30.--Catch rates of bottom fish during the last 10 years 

(Ralston text €ootnote 14). 
99 

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EFFORT ( BOAT -HOURS) 

Figure 31.--Relationship between catch rate and fishing effort 

(Ralston text footnote 14). 

0 1978 

EFFORT (BOAT- HOURS) 

Figure 32.--Catch as a function of fishing effort. 

(Ralston text footnote 14). 
100 

forms and may make vertical diel migrations up into midwater layers. 

the Pacific, experimental fishing for deepwater shrimps have been conducted 

in places such as Hawaii (Struhsaker and Aasted 1974), Guam (Wilder 1977, 

19791, New Caledonia (Int'es 19781, Fiji (Brown and King 19791, New Hebrides 

(King 1980a), and Western Samoa (King 1980b). 

In 

Results of exploratory trapping off Guam and the Northern Marianas 

indicate that there is considerable potential for development of a fishery 

for two species of carideans, Heterocarpus ensifer and E. laevinatus. 

Wilder (1977, 1979) demonstrated that deepwater shrimps can be caught in 

sufficiently large numbers in Guam's offshore waters with only moderate 

initial capital investment. His preliminary survey indicates that average 

catches of 1.81-2.72 kg per trap (4-6 lb per trap) can be expected, that 

the resource is distributed around the entire island, and that depth is the 

single most important factor to be considered in the distribution of 

caridean shrimps with the largest concentrations occurring at about 475 m 

(250 fathoms) (Wilder 1979). He also showed that g. ensifer was distributed between 213 and 732 m (116 and 400 fathoms) and that it was most 

abundant between 366 and 457 m (200 and 250 fathoms) whereas E. laevinatus 

was found between 451 and 732 m (246 and 400 fathoms) and it was most 

abundant at 610-732 m (333-400 fathoms) (Wilder 1977). 

Results of shrimp trapping operations conducted on the Gromwell in 

1978 showed that there was considerable overlap in the depth distribution 

of the two species of Heterocarpus. For example, at Tinian and Cocos 

Islands,H. laevinatus predominated in the catch at 638-678 m (349-371 

fathoms), but at Farallon de Medinilla and Saipan, &. ensifer predominated 

at 640-702 m (350-384 fathoms) (Table 52). Also g. laevipcatus was found at 

depths exceeding 732 m (400 fathoms); in fact, several traps fished deeper 

than 732 m and some as deep as 823 m (450 fathoms) producing moderately 

good catches of 1. laevinatus. 

Shrimp trapping experiments carried out aboard the NMFS-chartered 

FV Typhoon15 in waters around Saipan, Tinian, and Esmeralda Bank indicated 

a lower overall catch rate of 0.99 kg per trap (2.2 lb per trap). An 

experiment to determine species composition and relative abundance by depth 

showed that at 366 m (200 fathoms), 4. ensifer predominated in the catches; 

the catch rate was 0.58 kg per trap (1.3 lb per trap) and the shrimps were 

187 per kg (48.5 shrimps per lb). At 732 m E. laevipcatus predominated; the 

catch rate averaged 1.59 kg per trap (3.5 lb per trap) and the average size 

of the shrimp was 28.6 per kg (13 shrimps per lb). The catch at 1,097 m 

(600 fathoms) was likewise dominated by what was believed to be g. 

laevirzatus or a closely related species; the catch rate averaged 0.65 kg 

per trap (114 lb per trap) and the average size of the shrimp was 52.9 per 

kg (24 shrimps per lb). 

15Cruise and narrative reports, FV Typhoon charter cruise 81-01. 

I: 9-22 February 1981; Part 11: 15 March-15 April 1981. Southwest Fish. 

Cent., Natl. Mar. Fish. Serv., NOAA, Honolulu, HI 96812. 

Part 
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102 

Inshore Fishes 

Habitrt improvement projects have been in progress since 1970 in the 

inshore lagoon waters of Guam to concentrate and increase fish populations 

(Rami et al. 1978; Anderson et al. 1979). Two artificial reefs constructed 

from discarded tires were placed in Cocos Lagoon and a thitd, a 16.7-m Navy 

barge modified with the addition of 0.2-m diameter pipes to provide a roof 

~ver the barge pan, wa$ placed in Agat Bay. Neither of the two tire reefs 

attracted significant numbers of large fish. In general, coral growth on 

the tire reef8 was poor due to heavy siltation, The barge reef, on the 

other bend, attracted fish at the rate of 17 fish per month. Significaxit 

increases were noted in the numbers of planktivores above the barge, 

nocturnal carnivores reeiding under the barge, and grazing herbivores along 

the sides. The most important change, however, was the increase in the 

numbers of large fishes (0.5 hg or larger), mostly serranids and lutjanids, 

Vk8itiUg the artificial reef. 

The study also demonstrated that each of the 120 epecies observed at 

the artificial reefs fell into one of three patterns with respect to their 

abundance. Host were classified as irregular, that is, their abundance 

varied randomly with no distinct pattern. Others showed net increases over 

time and a third group showed distinct seasonal variations. Increases in 

asasonal species were attributed to settling of larval fish onto the 

artificial reef and by immigration of older juveniles from outside the 

teaf. Recreases in seasonal species appeared to be the result of predation. The increase and decrease of three predatory species appeared to 

be a distributional response to epatio-temporal variation in prey abundance. It was concluded that to continuously attract large carnivores to 

the artificial reef, prey density must be maintained at a higher level than 

in surrounding areas. 

Studiea on the community structure of fishes in Cocos Lagoon showed 

that the lagoon as a whole did not support an exceptionally rich ichthyofauna (Jones and Chase 1975). In fact, the lagoon would have been considerably more depauperate were it not for the reef development within the 

lagoon and the rubble tract and seagrass beds. Jones and Chase reasoned 

that the sand-dominated biotope, which makes up a considerable portion of 

the total lagoon, did not provide adequate cover and food for the fishes. 

Qualitative observetiona, however, disclosed that juvenile fishes occurred 

&a the lagoon in large numbers and that the enclosed nature and natural 

COVQ~ (reef and eeagrass beds) make Cocos Lagoon a valuable nursery ground 

Lor many apecies which constitute important components of Guam's sport and 

cammereial fishery, 

the lagoon could seriously affect not only the fish populations but also 

the rate of recruitment af subadults to nearby reef areas outside it. 

They concluded that physical disruption of any part of 

Other studies on inshore fish communities were conducted primarily in 

conjunction with coaatal surveys of bays and harbore. A study of Talofofo 

Bay by Randall (1974) brought out that most of the fishing conducted in the 

bay ia noncommercial in nature, and that several marine species there are 

of rscreatisnal value including various species of carangids, great barracuda or alu, yellowmarfi$.ned aea perch, silver-spotted gray snapper, rock 

flagtail or umatan, striped mullet, mullet, laiguan, oxeye tarpon, spineEQOt, rabbitfaeed spinefoat, and bluntnosed spinefoot. Gawel (1977) found 
103 

the fish fauna of Agat Bay, to be diverse and numerous in numbers of 

species. 

The overall density was 0.54 fish/m2 in the four biotopes examined. 

richness of the fish communities, however, differed considerably with 

respect to environmental facies; e.g+, no fish was found in the submarine 

terrace of unconsolidated sediments. The fish communities of the fringing 

reef-flat platform, reef margin, and reef-front biotopes were relatively 

dense and diverse. 

He listed 202 species belonging to 99 genera and 44 families. 

The 

At Piti Bay and Piti Channel the dominant species was the ringtailed 

surgeonfish or ugupao which occurred in small schools throughout the lagoon 

(Marsh et al. 1977). 

increase in the number and species of the Family Apogonidae over the 1976 

count. They concluded that, in general, the numbers of species and 

individuals have ranained constant or increased slightly for most fish 

families. The study also demonstrated that there were occasional fish 

kills in the outfall lagoon primarily affecting large fishes. 

species in the fish kills included the goldstriped goatfish, yellowmargined 

sea perch, majarras, ponyfish, sesjun, sandperch, and bluefinned crevalle. 

Marsh and Doty (1976) and Marsh et al. (1977) concluded that the fish kills 

resulted from episodic discharges of chlorine from the powerplants. 

The 1977 survey by Marsh et al. also showed an 

The major 

During the 1978 survey cruise of the Cromwell, 22 fish-trapping 

stations were occupied in depths ranging from 13 to 71 m (7 to 39 fathoms) 

to collect data on the distribution, species composition, and relative 

abundance of the fishes in the inshore community. The results of these 

trapping operations indicated that two species of lutjanids--bluelined 

snapper and twinspot snapper--were by far the most frequently caught; both 

species were caught at 20 of the 22 stations. The catch rates for the two 

species, however, were relatively low. Based on fish trap catches alone 

(some bluelined snapper and twinspot snapper were also taken in the lobster 

pots) the 321 trap-nights of effort expended during the cruise produced 

only 0.48 taape per trap-night and 0.18 red snapper per trap-night. 

Of interest are the sharks that were taken on the cruise for they 

represent a potentially important resource of commercial value. Table 53 

shows that the reef whitetip shark, Triaenodon obesus, occurred in the trap 

catches in relatively good numbers. They were particularly abundant around 

Farallon de Medinilla where the fish traps caught 35, at Galvez Banks where 

21 were taken on station 83, and at an unnamed bank 137 nmi due west of 

Rota (lat. 14012.4' N, long. 142052.5' E) where 12 were caught. 

In the Northern Marianas, hesbury et al. (1977) found more than 5,000 

fishes of some 75 different species in the Tanapag Harbor area. The most 

abundant groups were the damselfishes, with two species--Chromis caerulea 

and Dascvllus aruanus--accounting for about 50% and ZOX, respectively, of 

the fishes seen. 

were the sharpbacked puffer which occurred in 15 of the 18 transects, and 

the surgeonfish. Amesbury et al. (1977) concluded that there were 

undoubtedly many species that were not observed during the census because 

of their behavioral pattern, e.gr, the roving predators including the 

jacks, snappers, and goatfishes. Also not observed were seasonally 

abundant fishes like the rabbitfishes, nocturnally active forms such as 

squirrelfishes, and cardinalfishes, Apogonidae, and cryptic or secretive 

Among other species frequently observed in the harbor 
104 

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fishes like gobies, Gobiidae, blenniee, Blenniidae, scorpaenids, 

Scorpaenidae, and eels, Muraenidae. 

A 1979 survey of Saipan Lagoon by Amesbury et al. (1979) provided 

estimates of annual equilibrium harvest for fish groups of potential 

economic importance (Table 54). Based on surveys of 24 habitats (Table 55) 

within the lagoon, in terms of numbers, blue Chromis was by far the most 

abundant followed by surgeonfishes, rabbitfishes, barracuda, and large 

wrasses (Table 56). By weight, however, the surgeonfishes were dominant 

followed by blue Chromis, rabbitfishes, large wrasses, high-bodied jacks, 

and large groupers (Table 57). The authors also recommended that certain 

habitats should be preserved intact, because of high densities of economically valuable fish species (Table 58). 

Rabbitf ish 

Based on the number of studies that have been conducted on the 

rabbitfishes in Guam over the past few years, they must rank among the top 

food fishes on the island. Several of these studies appear in Tsuda et al. 

(1976). Of the eight species of siganids recorded from Guam (Shultz et al. 

1953; Kami et al. 1968; Kami 19751, only six have been observed over the 

past 20 years (Kami and Ikehara 1976) Of these, only two--bluntnosed and 

silver spinefoot--are important food fish. Although both juvenile and 

adult rabbitfishes are sought by the local people, the juveniles are by far 

the most important with respect to Guamanian culture. Traditionally, the 

annual harvesting of the juvenile siganids when they first appear on the 

shallow reef flats is a major village event. The arrival of the juvenile 

siganid run, which has been described as a return to nearshore waters of 

fish completing their pelagic larval stages, can be predicted with 

surprising accuracy and is almost certain to fall a few days before or 

after the last quarter of the moon (called Quarto Menquate locally) in 

April and May. Kami and Ikehara a160 noted that occasionally, juveniles 

occur in June and October, with the runs again falling close to the last 

phase of the moon. 

From creel census data, Kami and Ikehara estimated that in the 13-year 

period from 1963 to 1975, 5 years (1964, 1968, 1969, 1973, and 1974) had 

exceptionally low harvests; the catch in 1973 amounted to less than 0.1 t. 

The high occurred in 1972 when nearly 15 t were harvested. It should be 

noted, however, that the calculated annual catches are underestimates 

because it would be impossible to obtain complete islandwide coverage 

during the period of the run. 

relative magnitudes of the annual runs. 

The data do provide a fair estimate of the 

The fact that rabbitfishes are part of the diet of tunas (Kami and 

Ikehnra 1976) and that they are highly desirable food fish make them ideal 

for consideration as mariculture species. If mariculture is economically 

feasible, then the rabbitfishes could be confined and fed until a desirable 

size is reached, either for food or baitfish in pole-and-line fishing for 

tuna 8. 

Tsuda and Bryan (1973) investigated the food preference of two species 

of rabbitfishes, bluntnosed and rabbitfaced spinefoot, and found that only 

10 of the 45 plant genera tested were always eaten by the juveniles of 
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Table 55.--Characterj.stic, depth, and substrate of the habitats within 

Saipan Lagoon (Amesbury et al. 1979). 

Habitat Characteristic and location Depth (m) Substrate 

1 Small embayment east of Charlie Dock; 

2 Stands of sea grass, Enhalus 

3 Heavy stands of sea grass, Halodule 

4 Dominated by Halodule in patches (no 

surrounded by mangrove trees. 

acoroides; adjacent to Achugau Beach. 

uninervis; south of Susupe Point. 

5 

6 

10 

11 

12 

13 

14 

15 

16 

17 

18 

locat ion given). 

North end of lagoon; shallow water. 

Scattered patches of Sargassum 

polycystum and small sea cucumbers; 

off Susupe Point. 

Mid-lagoon; growth of Padina, Caulerpa, 

and Dictyota; a150 other algae. 

Mid-lagoon patch reef with living and 

dead coral and coralline algae. 

Inshore dredged area from Charlie Dock 

to Puntan Muchot. 

Main harbor area with extensive 

stretches of sand and isolated 

outcrops of coral heads. 

Extensive stretches of sand; small 

patches of Halodule (no location 

given). 

Uninterrupted stretches of sand 

covered by blue-green alga, Microcoleus lyngbyaceus: nortlicrn 

Tanapag Lagoon. 

Extensive cover of small sea grass, 

Halophila minor and other algae; 

central Garapan Lagoon. 

Fairly numerous clusters of Acropora 

scattered throughout; mid-Garapan 

Lagoon. 

Well-developed Acropora formosa colonies 

near reef channel; northern Garapan 

Lagoon. 

Lagoon fringing reef south and east of 

Managaha Is land. 

Area with numerous patch reefs; west 

of Managaha Island. 

Near barrier reef in northern part of 

lagoon; contains scattered Acropora, 

Padina, and other algae. 

0.5 

1.0-1.5 

1.0-3.0 

-- 

0.5-1.5 

0.8-2.0 

1.5-3.0 

0.5-2.0 

3.0 

12.0 

2.5 

3.0 

1.2-2.5 

1.5 

0.5-3.5 

0.5-4.5 

0.5-5.0 

1.0-4.0 

Fine silt 

Fine sand 

Sand 

Dead coral and 

algae 

Sandy, including 

algae and scattered coral 

Sandy 

Sand and rubble 

Coral 

Silt with rubble, 

wreckage, and 

coral growth 

Sand 

Sand 

Sand 

Sand 

Sand 

Coral 

Coral and algae 

Coral 

Sand, rubble, 

coral, and 

algae 
11 3 

Table 55.--Continued. 

Habitat Characteristic and location Depth (m) Substrate 

19 Lagoon side fringe of barrier reef 0.2-2.0 

at southern end of Garapan Lagoon. 

20 Band of rich coral growth near 0.5-1.5 

northern Tanapag Lagoon barrier 

reef. 

at northern and western margins 

of Garapan Lagoon. 

barrier reef; northeast edge of 

Garapan Lagoon 

seaward of barrier reef; immediately 

north of Afetna Point 

reef; northern end of'Garapan Lagoon. 

21 Lagoon side fringe of barrier reef 0.5-2.0 

22 Highly dissected habitat of submerged 0.5-5.0 

23 Zone of spur and groove topography 1.0-4.0 

24 Deep zone seaward of western barrier 6.0-10.0 

Coralline algae 

with sand and 

some coral 

growth 

Coral 

Coral 

Coral, sand, . and algae 

Coral 

Coralline algae 

and sand 
114 

Table 5h.--Equilibrium harvesting rates for fishes of potential economic 

importance in Saipan Lagoon (Amesbury et al. 1979). 

A B A c=- B 

Est ima t ed Estimated 

Est imnted turnover yearly 

abundance 3 n t ime 1 Source of equilibrium 

Saipan Lagoon (years) turnover time2 harvest 

Sharks 

Milkfish 

Large squirrelfish 

Mullets 

Barracuda 

Large groupers 

Slender jacks 

High-bodied .j aclts 

Snappers 

Leiognathids 

Sparids 

Rudderfish 

Goatfish 

Large wrasses 

Adult parrotfish 

Surgeonfish 

Robbitfish 

Silversides 

Cardinalfish 

Fusiliers 

Blue Chromis 

277 12 Randall 1977 

12 9 

8,922 

72 

20,367 

1,871 

1.5 DeSylva 1963 

1.5 Thompson and 

Munro 1976 

23 

13,578 

1,247 

2.0 Watarai 1973 1,784 

852 

3,567 

120,505 

999 

744 

406 

304,658 

24,220 2.0 Roede 1972 12,110 

783,852 1.5 Handall 1961 522,568 

1.86,200 1.5 Tsuda et al. 1976; 124,133 

1977 

224,638 

Hasse et al. 

4,617 

48,287 

4,062 

4,423,070 1.0 Swerdloff 1970 4,423,070 

- ll_l_ __ - - -_ -_ -_ - -- 

'Turnover time defined ;IS tIIc1 nvc.r,ige ~irnc' it takes for a newly spawned 

fish egg to hatch and the lnrvav grow to maturity, i.e., a reproductively 

active adult fish. 

2Sm-ces ritcd may 13c fowici iii Aiiit,hJji1ry ('t iy79, 
115 

Table 5A.--Weight estimates of selected fishes as listed in Table 56 

indicating potential annual harvest (Saipan Lagoon only) (Commonwealth of 

the Northern Mariana Islands text footnote 9). 

A B C D C3xAxD 

B E= 

Assumed Assumed 

Turnover harvest potential 

time size Assumed yearly harvest 

Species Abundance (year) (inches) constant (pounds) 

Large groupers 1,871 1.5 8 0.00080 511 

High-bodied 

j acks 3,567 2.0 8 0.00064 585 

Large wrasses 24,220 2.0 8 0.00048 2,976 

Surgeonf ish 783,852 1.5 5 0.00080 52,257 ' 

Rabbitfish 186,200 1.5 5 0.00074 11,482 

Blue Chromis 4,423,070 1.0 2 0.00065 23,000 

Table 58.--Habitats recommended for preservation and the economically 

important fish species within them (Amesbury et al. 1979). 

Habitat Important fish resources 

2 

3 

4 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

12 

14 

15 

16 

17 

18 

19 

20 

21 

22 

23 

24 

Rabbitfish 

Snappers, rabbitfish, goatfish 

Juvenile parrotfish 

Goatfish 

Juvenile parrotfish, barracuda 

Large wrasses, juvenile parrotfish, rabbitfish 

High-bodied jacks, surgeonfish 

Snappers, adult parrotfish, surgeonfish, blue Chromis 

Slender jacks 

Goatfish, juvenile parrotfish, blue Chromis 

Squirrelfish, goatfish, juvenile parrotfish, surgeonfish, 

Large groupers, large wrasses, adult parrotfish, 

Large wrasses, surgeonfish 

Goatfish, juvenile parrotfish, blue Chromis 

Juvenile parrotfish, surgeonfish, rabbitfish 

Goatfish, juvenile parrotfish, surgeonfish 

Large wrasses, juvenile parrotfish, surgeonfish, rabbitJuvenile and adult parrotfish, surgeonfish 

Large groupers, large wrasses, adult parrotfish, 

Large wrasses, adult parrotfish, surgeonfish 

blue Chromis 

surge on f is h 

fish, blue Chromis 

surgeonfish 
116 

Table 59.--Results of feeding experiments (0 = rejected, - = occasionally 

ingested, and + = ingested) on mixed populations of Siganus rostratus and 

- S. spinus utilizing benthic plants found on the reefs of Guam during May 

to June 1972. 

(Tsuda and Bryan 1973). 

Number of algal species tested enclosed in parentheses 

Noncalcareous fleshy Calcareous Filamentous ____ - _- __ - _- -- 

Genera Resu 1 t 4 Cenera Resulte Genera Results 

Cyanophyta 

Calothrix (1) 

Hormothanmion (1) 

Microcoleus (1) 

Schizothrix (2) 

Boodlea (1) 

Bryopsis (1) 

Chlorodesmis (1) 

CladophorGis (1) 

Derbesia (1) 

Enteromorpha (2) 

leldmannia (1) 

Sphaceiaria (1) 

Chlorophyta 

Phacophyt a 

Rhodophyta 

Chlorophyta 

Avrainvillea (2 

Boergesenia (1) 

Caulerpa (2) 

Codium (1) 

Dictyosphaerin 

v a 1 on i a- T1,T 

Dictyota- (3) 

Lobophora (1) 

Ralfsia (1) 

Sargassum (2) 

Turbinaria (1) 

__I~ 

-- - 

_-- 

Phil;- 

___-- 

____ 

-~- 

RhodoDhvt a 

Desmia (1.) 

Gelidiella (1) 

Gelldlum (1) 

Gracilaria (1) 

Hypnea (1) 

____. 

-.___- 

Seagrasses 

Enhalus (1) 

Halodule (1) 

- 

0 

+ 

0 

0 

- 

- 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

- 

- 

+ 

0 

0 

Chlorophyta 

Ilalimeda (2) 

Neomeris (1) 

TJdemnnnia (1) 

UdytGm 

Padina (2) 

Actinotrica (1) 

Amphiroa (1) 

CheilospE (1) 

Galaxaura (2) 

.Jania (2) 

sphora (1) 

_- 

_-- 

Phacophyta 

Rhodophyt a 

0 

0 

0 

0 

- 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

- 

these species. Of the 10, 8 were categorized as filamentous and 2 noncalcareous, fleshy algae, i.ed, Caulerpa racemosa and HyDnea pannosa (Table 

59). Their studies also demonstrated that both S. rostratus and S. spinus 

are highly selective in the type of algae consumed. 

Other studies on the mariculture potential of rabbitfishes by Tsuda et 

al.16 revealed that silver spinef oot grow faster than bluntnosed spinefoot 

and that although both species are basically herbivorous and feed exclusively on plant material in their natural habitat, their growth rates can 

be increased significantly if their diet is supplenented by the addition of 

some protein such as that found in commercially prepared trout chow. They 

concluded, however, that since trout chow was not economically feasible as 

fish feed at $0.30 per pound, other sources of protein will have to be 

tested. 

l0Tsuda, R. T., P. G. Bryan, W. J. FitzGerald, Jr., and W. J. Tobias. 

1974. Juvenile-adult rearing of Sinanus (Pisces: Siganidae) in Guam. 

South Pac. Conrm. Seventh Technical Meeting on Fisheries, Nuku'Alofa, Tonga, 

July 15-19, 1974, 6 p. (Mimeogr.) 
117 

Spiny Lobs t er 

The volcanic islands of the Mariana Archipelago all have narrow reefs 

This lack of shelf habitats creates some problems for the 

and essentially little or no shelf zone such as that found off many continental areas. 

settling larvae, juveniles, and adults of spiny lobster because suitable 

habitat is at a premium. Therefore, regardless of the availability of 

larvae in the plankton, the lack of suitable grounds is considered a 

primary limiting factor of abundance and a major determinant of population 

size (MacDonald).l7 

George (1972a) reported that three species of spiny lobsters of the 

genus Panulirus are known from the waters of Micronesia: E. penicillatus, 

- P. yersicolor, and E. femoristriga. In addition, fishermen at Truk and 

Ponape have described a white lobster with olive mottling on the carapace. 

Also, large spiny lobsters have been reported from deep waters on the 

outside of Ngulu, Woleai, and Truk, and from inside the lagoon at Ulithi. 

George believes that these reports indicate the presence of a fourth 

species, p. ornatus, which is a large species of variable color. 

According to MacDonald (footnote 17) and George (1972a1, 1. 

penicillatus is the most abundant species but it can only be fished 

profitably during the calm-weather months from June to September, when 

fishermen can walk through ankle- and knee-deep water over the reef flats 

at night during the lowest tides. Night fishing by this method requires 

illumination by lantern or flashlight. Animals seen foraging over the 

reef flats are firmly stepped on to prevent escape, lifted by hand out of 

the water, and dropped into burlap bags. Panulirus versicolor is not as 

abundant as 2. penicillatus and is usually found in calm waters inside and 

outside the lagoon to a depth of 21 m. 

be intermediate in ecological preference between E. penicillatus and p. 

versicolor. 

reef edges amongst dense coral growth, shallow water along seaward channel 

mouths, and well-washed limestone caves along the limestone islands. It is 

not as common as 2. penicillatus and p. versicolor. 

Panulirus femoristriiza appears to 

It prefers clear water just on the lagoon side of the active 

In 1978, the Cromwell occupied 22 trapping stations and found 

convincing evidence that spiny lobsters either do not occur in any 

abundance in waters 13 m or deeper or that they do not enter baited traps 

in any appreciable numbers. 

three were identified as p. penicillatus, one as 1. versicolor, and two as 

- P. femoristrina (Table 53). According to George (197281, p. versicolor 

ordinarily do not enter traps; the lone p. versicolor caught on the 

cruise, therefore, is an indication that this species although present in 

waters around Guam and probably also around the Northern Marianas, may 

have to be fished by methods other than traps, perhaps with tangle nets. 

Of six spiny lobsters taken during the cruise, 

17MacDonald, C. D. 

Micronesia. Mar. Resour. Div., Koror, Palau, Western Caroline Islands 

96940, 6 p. (Mimeogr.) 

1971. An initial report on the spiny lobsters of 
118 

Other attempts have been made to trap lobstert? in waters around Guam 

and the Northern Marianas. 

spiny lobsters from 7 March to 6 April 1977 and found that they can be 

caught in shallow water at the rate of 2.7-3.6 kg per trap (6-8 lb per 

trap) near the edges of the reef in about 13-15 m (7-8 fathoms) at Rota, 

which is believed to have the highest concentration of spiny lobsters. 

Tinian, none was caught. All the lobsters taken during this survey were 

never identified to species. Morris19 reported that on Cruise No. 7 of the 

FV Typhoon, one lobster pot set in 37 m (20 fathoms) of water for 14 hours 

produced one berried E. versicolor weighing 0.6 kg (1.3 lb). 

Harringtonls conducted a trapping survey for 

At 

Seamount Groundfish Resources 

A seamount groundfish trawl fishery in the North Pacific began in the 

late sixties after a Soviet trawler discovered pelagic armorhead and 

alfonsin on the Emperor Seamount chain northwest of Midway Islands. 

fishery is now prosecuted not only by Soviet trawlers but also by those of 

Japan around all of the major seamounts in the North Pacific including 

Kinmei, Colahan, Hancock, Yuryaku, and Kanmu (Chikuni 1970, 1971a, 1971b; 

Sakiura 1972; JAMARC 1973; Sasaki 1973; Japan Fisheries Agency 1974; 

Takahashi and Sasaki 1977). 

The 

In the western Pacific, there is an extension of the South Honshu 

Ridge, which is within the U.S. FCZ around Guam and the Northern Marianas. 

Among the undersea features belonging to this ridge are Arakane Reef, 

Pathfinder Reef, Stingray Shoal, and several unnamed pinnacles and 

seamounts (Table 60). None of the marine resources surveys to date (both 

PTDF and NMFS charters of the FV Typhoon and the Cromwell survey) have 

uncovered the presence of armorhead and alfonsin in waters around Guam and 

the Northern Marianas; however, some reports indicate that alfonsins are 

present. 

Statement/Preliminary Management Plan (EIS/PMP), dated January 1977, 

comments and responses received from Akira Matsuura of the Japan Fisheries 

Agency indicated that eight Japanese vessels operated in waters off Guam 

and the Northern Marianas before the MFCMA went into effect and that the 

catch of approximately 700 t included a variety of species including 

alfonsin. 

vessel under charter to the Government of the Northern Marianas recently 

caught 227 kg (500 lb) of broad alfonsin near Saipan with a bottom gill net 

(Kamimura).20 

In the Seamount Groundfish Fishery Resources Environmental Impact 

Furthermore, it has also been reported that a Japanese fishing 

Two Korean longliners chartered from 13 January to 13 

18Harrington, R. 1977. A report submitted to the Government of the 

Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas, 4 p. 

19Morris, D. 

1 August 1980. Guam Aquat. Wildlife Resour. Div., Dep. Agric., Gov. Guam, 

Agana, GU 96910. 

1980. Cruise report, FV Twhoon cruise 7, 25 July20Kamimura, K. K. K. Industries, Inc., Saipan CM 96950. Pers. 

commun., May 1981. 
Arakone I<(*I> I 

Esmeral do 1;;iiik 

Galvez Ratllc!: 

Path Eindcr I!(.(. I 

Satlta Rosa I<i,i* I 

Stingray Shc7;i 1 

Supply Reef 

Taga Senmorin 1 

TaLsum-L Kee E 

T 1: ace y S e amout1 I 

Zealandin Bank 

15"38' 

14"57' 

13"04' 

16"31 ' 

12"50' 

20O 70' 

%0°09' 

14'24' 

14"54' 

17O35)' 

16"53' 

142'45' 

145 ' 15 ' 

144'27 ' 

143'08' 

144'25' 

142'22' 

145'06' 

144'49' 

145'40' 

144'25' 

145'51' 

February 1977 by the Commonwcnlth Fishing Company also caught a total of 15 

brood alfonsin while f ishiny, with bottom longline gear (Commonwealth of the 

Northern Marianas). 21 

The alfonsins are highly regarded a8 food fish in Japan and if stocks 

of this or related species con be found over the seamounts and other 

undersea features within the South Honshu Ridge or over deep banks along 

tho ieland chain, then Guam and the Northern Marianas would be in a 

strategic position to harvest and export them to Japanese markets. The 

extent of the seamount groundfish resource, however, is unknown and 

intensive surveys would be required to evaluate their potential. 

Corals (Including Precious Corals), Shells, and Algae 

Cornls 

Coral recf 8, which comprise one of nature's most diverse ecosystems, 

Gerve ns protective barriers against waves for many coastal communities a8 

well as provide a natural habitat for plant and animal life. These in turn 

provide a variety of food and other products of commercial value including 

crnnd, ohclls, jewelry coral, decorative materials, leather (shark skin), 

tools (bones, teeth, and other hard parts of reef duellers), and phannaceuticnls (Grigg 1979). Perhaps of equal importance are nonconsumptive 

uoes of coral reef associated with recreational activities. 

21Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas, Divison of Marine Resources, 

Mcmornndum on fish catch data, dated July 9, 1981, 11 p. 
120 

There are three basic types of reefs associated with tropical Pacific 

islands : the fringing reefs, barrier reefs, and atolls. Guam is encircled 

completely by fringing reefs except along certain sections of the limestone 

cliffs (Randall and Hollman 1974). In addition, there are two locations 

where barrier reefs have developed and partially or fully enclose small 

lagoons. These are at Apra Harbor on the west coast and at Cocos Island at 

the southwest end of the island. 

Guam's fringing reefs vary from narrow cut benches around limestone 

headlands with a thin veneer of encrusting algae below sea level to broad 

reef flats which are more than 0.9 km in width; they contain a variety of 

corals and algae (Randall and Holloman 1974). 

character from one to another; however, development of specific features 

depends to some extent on the reef's particular location. 

Guam's reefs vary widely in 

Cocos Lagoon, located at the southern tip of Guam, has one of the most 

diverse coral communities on the island (Eldredge 1979). The distribution, 

however, is highly variable with corals absent on the intertidal reef flats 

and along the inner lagoon fringing reef flat. Along the outer fringing 

reef flat and the inner and outer barrier reef flats, there are sectors 

that are totally devoid of corals whereas other sectors have very dense 

growth. 

the deep lagoon, they are abundant, forming scattered patch reefs, mounds, 

knolls, and pinnacles. 

Corals are widely scattered on the shallow lagoon terrace but in 

Productivity estimates of a Guam reef flat community were comparable 

with those reported for other Pacific reef flats in general and for a 

Hawaiian reef in particular (Marsh 1974). Preliminary estimates of net 

community productivity on the Guam reef ranged from 0.19 to 1.8 g 

op/m2/hour and averaged 0.87. 

1.6 g 02/m2/hour. 

The gross productivity was estimated to be 

Ikehara et al. (1972) pointed out that the inner reef flats of Guam 

appear to be fully exploited and that there were strong indications of 

overfishing in most of the areas fished. Furthermore, the reef flats are 

recipients or potential recipients of all effluent discharges from the 

island. 

future impacts on the reef environment, a study was conducted by Amesbury 

(1978) to identify some of the important ecological factors of the reef 

flat environment which promote the development and maintenance of these 

fish communities. The results indicated that none of the areas surveyed 

showed any signs of impoverishment due to human activities. Amesbury 

concluded that reef flat fishes produce large numbers of eggs during their 

lifetimes, thus making available more young fish than the reef can actually 

support. The high production of these reef inhabitants guarantees that 

there will always be an adequate number of new residents should a catastrophic fish kill occur. The habitats which become available after a 

die-off are quickly inhabited by new recruits. 

To better understand the ecological significance of present and 

Amesbury added that serious consequences could result if destruction 

of reef habitats are allowed to occur through man's activities such as 

blasting, dredging, and filling. Sedimentation resulting from these 

activities, together with changes in topography, in circulation patterns, 
121 

in substrate composition, and in coral growth will undoubtedly be accompanied by significant changes in the reef -associated f ish communities . The Guam islanders utilize the reef to obtain food as well as for 

recreational purposes (Hedlund 1977). Reef organisms are considered 

harvestable and renewable resources; however, all are finite and care must 

be exercised to regulate their harvest. Hedlund reported that in recent 

years, more islanders have begun collecting corals, Shells, and algae 

either for ornamental purposes or for food and commercial harvesting has 

expanded significantly. 

commercially in Guam waters and their value are given in Tables 61 and 62. 

The most common species of coral harvested 

The results of a number of studies on corals in waters of the Northern 

Marianas have been published. Doty et al. (1977) cite studies conducted at 

Saipan by Cloud (1959) and between Puntan Flores and Puntan Muchot in 

Tanapag Harbor by Gawel (1974). Their own studies in Tanapag Harbor showed 

that Charlie Bay had the greatest coral cover followed by the northeastern 

aide of Able Dock, Baker Bay, and the outer zone of Unai Sadog Taee (Table 

63). 

had the least coral coverage of the sites sampled. The results also showed 

that three species, Pocillopora damicornis, Porites lutea, and MilleDora ' 

dichotoma, occurred everywhere along the shore; Pocillopora damicornis was 

by far the most predominant and all three occurred at all 13 sites sampled. 

The seaward face of Able Dock and the inner zone of Unai Sadog Tase 

Eldredge et al. (1977) found 31 genera and 74 species of scleractinian 

corals and 2 genera and 4 species of nonscleractinians in Maug Lagoon. 

They concluded from their studies that as a whole, the coral coverage on 

the lagoon SlOpeS is low and that there are no actively accreting coral 

reefs. 

predominating along most of Maug crater's submerged slopes and suggested 

that the sediments and rocks which perpetually rain down are mainly 

responsible for the lack of coral coverage inside the lagoon. 

They a180 found sediments of volcanic origin and basaltic boulders 

Table 64 gives the results of 19 dredge hauls between 36 and 364 m in 

an investigation of the ecology of precious corals in the area between Guam 

and Saipan (Grigg and Edlredge 1975). 

gorgonians, 38 species of scleractinian corals, 10 species of black corale, 

several alcyonarians, 2 sponges, 4 asteroides, several crinoids and echinoids, 3 algae, 2 crustaceans, and 1 fish. 

The survey produced 40 speciea of 

The survey failed to locate commercial grade Corallium spp. (red and 

pink corals). 

but the quality was extremely poor. 

coral, Corallium iaponicum, and white coral, C. konioi, in 1936 off Pagan 

and near Saipan. For a while, the coral fishery centered in Saipan, 

rapidly flourished and exploration soon spread to the outlying northern 

islands, Tinian and Aguijan. Although these new grounds produced corals, 

none were of good quality and operations soon ceased. 

Dead branches of Corallium sp. were collected at one etation 

Takahashi (1942) reported finding red 

Interviews with Japanese fishermen who still reside on Rota and Tinian 

revealed that in pre-World War I1 days, large quantities of high-quality 

red coral were harvested in 109-146 m (60-80 fathoms) off these islands 

(Grigg and Eldredge 1975). 

waters off Rota produced nothing. 

But eight dredge hauls by Grigg and Eldredge in 
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Table 62.--Estimates of 

consumption of the most 

waters (Hedlund 1977). 

the monetary value of annual commercial 

commonly harvested corals from Guanl 

Species harvested 1975 1976 1977 Total 

$ 1,275 Acropora acuminata $ 900 375 -- ___- 

Acropora spp. (fossil 

Acropora irregularis 7,200 7,200 -- 14,400 

Acropora spp. 6 00 600 

Antipathes dichotoma 450 450 225 1,125 

800 

$9,550 $8,425 12,225 $30,200 

and subfossil origin) -- -- $12,000 12,000 

-- -- 

Fungia fungites 400 400 -- 

Grigg and Eldredge reported that in recent years, considerable 

quantities of red and pink coral have been found in the Bonin Islands to 

the north of the Mariana Archipelago. They concluded that the southern 

limit of commercial grade Corallium in the Northern Marianas may be about 

lat. 180 N. 

None of the 10 species of black corals collected (8 by dredge hauls 

and 2 by diving) occurred in large quantities (Grigg and Eldredge 1975). 

Divers in Guam have reported harvesting Antipathes dichotoma at depths 

greater than 50 m. Hardness tests of this species showed that the gem 

quality was the same as that of Hawaiian black coral. Grigg and Eldredge 

concluded that the resource of this species may not be sufficiently large 

to support an industry in Guam or the Northern Marianas; however, they 

recommend further exploration to accurately evaluate the extent and value 

of the resource. 

Shells 

In addition to their use as food, marine shells have been used as 

money, decorative jewelry, medicine, building materials, tools, horns and 

trumpets, objects of art, and in games. In Guam, some shells are sold in 

curio and jewelry shops, but the bulk of those collected end up in private 

collections (Hedlund 1977). Hedlund's study also demonstrated that compared with accounts of shelling in Tumon and Agana Bays and in Cocos 

Lagoon, recent shelling expeditions have found all the popular areas decimated of shells, either through pollution or increased harvesting. Among 

those shells that were common in former years but rarely seen today are the 

helmet shells, Cassius cornuta, the triton trumpet, Charonia tritonis, 

golden cowry, Cypraea aurantium, olive shell, Oliva miniacea, and two 

conchs, Strombus aurisdianae and 2. bulla. Table 65 gives the names of the 

areas most commonly visited by shell collectors in Guam and the species 

most frequently hunted. 
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Table 65.--The most commonly shelled areas of Guam, along with 

the most sought after species found therein (Hedlund 1977). 

Locat ion Species 

Scout Beach (east of Tarague) 

Tarague Beach 

N.C.S. Beach 

Tumon Bay 

Adelup Point 

Asan 

Piti - U.S.O. Beach 

Apra Harbor (Hotel Wharf, Pine Tree 

Cove, Jade Shoals, Western and 

Middle Shoals, Gag Gab Beach) 

North and South Tipalao 

Rizal Beach 

Agat Beach 

Nimitz Beach-Anae Island 

Cocos Lagoon 

Conus ehraeus 

Thais aculeata 

Trochus incrassatus 

Trochus niloticue 

_l_l_-. 

Cypraea maculifera 

-- Conus textile 

Cypraea maculifera 

Cypraea lynx 

Conus textile 

-- Conus t igrinus 

Conus imperialis 

Cypraea ventriculus 

-- Lambis truncata 

gpraea poraria 

Cypraea talpa 

Mitra spp. 

Terebra babylonia 

Cypraea mauritiana 

Cypraea tigris 

Cypraea lynx 

Cypraea mauritiana 

Cypraea t igris 

Cypraea vitellus 

Mitra terebralis 

Cypraea testudinaria 

Conus quercina 

Cypraea t igris 

Conus leopardus 

Conus litteratus 

Lambis truncata 
128 

The six species of gastropods used as food in Guam are turban shells, 

- Turbo grnvrostoma and r. setosus;vnse shells, Vasum ceranicum and'x. 

turbinellus; strawberry conch, and top shell. Marine bivalves harvested in 

Guam include the white ehell, Codakia tigerina; Venus clam; tellin shell, 

midairranus palatum; and giant clam. 

Stojkovich and Smith (1978) carried out an intensive study to assess 

the commercial potential of Guam's shellfish and sea urchin resources, 

including their distribution, habitat preference, size, and standing crop. 

Table 66 lists the gastropod, bivalves, and sea urchin included in the 

study. The reeults indicate that the population of top shell is sufficiently denee to warrant a limited commercial fishery for this species, 

provided that harvesting is rigidly managed and regulations are strictly 

enforced. 

the current provision which allows harvesting of small shells for home 

consumption or raising the size limit to 76 mm, because concurrent 

harvesting of both mature and immature individuals would result in a 

signif icant reduction of the existing stock. Their studies also revealed 

that top shell apparently segregated by size groups and occupy different 

zones in the reef, with progressively larger individuals found seaward from 

the outer reef flat. 

Furthermore, Stojkovich and Smith recommended either abolishing 

Data collected on tridacnid clams showed that of the three species 

found in Guam, only Tridacna maxima is relatively common along the reef 

front. Their small size and low densities, however, would probably 

preclude commercial harvesting. Stojkovich and Smith concluded that other 

Table 66.--Species of shellfish and sea urchins 

surveyed in waters of Guam, June-August 1978 

(Stojkovich and Smith 1978). 

.... ..... .- ~. __ ... 

Gastropods Trochus niloticus - -- 

Bivalves 

Sea urchins 

- Tridacna maxima 

Tridacna squamosa 

Hippopus hippopus 

- Anodontia sternsiana 

Asaphis violascens 

Ctena delicatula 

Ctena divergens 

Fragum fragum 

Gafrarium pectinatum 

Gafrarium tumidum 

hlodiolus (cf . auriculatus) 

Periglypta puerpera 

Quidnipagus palatum 

Saxostrea mordax 

Scutarcopagia scobinata 

Diadema savignyi 

Echinothrix diadema 
1.29 

bivalves occur in quantities only large enough to support a recreational 

fishery. 

palatum, Modiolus (cf. auriculatus), and Scutarcopapia scobinata occurred 

in sufficient numbers for commercial harvesting. 

urchins, periodically for gonadal development but found none of them ripe. 

The highest densities of sea urchin, Diadema savivnyi, were found at Piti 

and Agat and large populations of another species, Echinothrix diadema, 

were found at Tumon, Piti, and Agat. Both species inhabited the reef 

margin and front at Tumon and Agat where suitable overhangs and cavities 

provided refuge. 

respect to reef zones. 

None of the larger species such as Asaphis violascens, 9. 

They examined sea 

There was no segregation by sizes among sea urchins with 

The survey of molluscs and other benthic invertebrates by Dickinson 

(1977) in Tanapag Harbor, Saipan, revealed that the mollusc most frequently 

encountered was Lambis lambis which occurred in each of the six sampling 

sites. 

common bivalve was Saxostrea mordax. The most frequently observed sea 

urchin was Mespilia rtlobufus which was most abundant in the narrow rubble 

zone of one sampling site. The gall crab, Hapalocarcinus marsupialis, was 

also very common, occurring at each of the six stations. Dickinson's list 

of major invertebrate species from Tanapag Harbor has several species of 

shells that are of commercial value either for consumption or to 

co 1 1 ec t or s . 

The next most common gastropod was Cypraea erosa and the most 

Algae 

The plants in the ocean are, as on land, the primary producers, that 

is, they are capable of elaborating complex organic substances from simple 

inorganic compounds found in sea water. In a coral reef ecosystem, the 

plants are probably the most important for without them, the reef would 

cease to exist. Micro- and macroscopic plants provide food and energy for 

the multitude of other reef inhabitants; some, in fact, are utilized as 

food by man. 

Hedlund (1977) found that none of the local species of algae are 

marketed regularly in Guam. Three species that are harvested are the green 

alga, Saulerpa racemosa, or ado as it is called locally; Codium spp.; and 

red alga, Gracilaria edulis. Green alga is collected in Pago Bay on the 

reef flat south of Inarajan and is most abundant in January to May. The 

red alga is harvested mostly from Sella Bay. 

Because of the increasing interest in seaweeds and seaweed products on 

the world market and in the development of seaweed mariculture, Nelson et 

al. (1980) conducted experiments to determine the specific growth rates 

and ammonium uptake by 5. edulis and g. arcuata from Guam. Using salinities of 13, 23, and 34 o/oo for each species, the authors examined ammonium 

uptake over a wide range of substrate concentrations with the highest at 

5 X lo3 'sg-at NHq-N - 1-1 and found a strong diffusion component in the 

species. The nitrogen content of the thalli was variable but averaged 

2.07% for 5. edulis and 3.31% for 5. arcuata. The growth of the two 

species was generally higher in the raft culture as opposed to the tank 

culture system. For tank culture, the mean specific growth rates in the 

fall were 2.56% per day for G. edulis and 2.02% per day for 5. arcuata. In 

raft culture, G. edulis exhibited a growth rate of 4.80% per day whereas 
130 

that for G. arcuata was 3.50% per day. The authors also suggested that 

growth rates of these two species could most likely be enhanced by nutrient 

enrichment of the water. 

There is no historical record of seaweed harvesting or utilization for 

the Northern Marianas; however, there are several genera of edible algae 

there that are utilized as food by other Pacific islanders including 

Caulerpa racemosa, Enteromorpha SPPJ, Gracilaria SPPJ, Laurencia spp~, and 

Hypnea spp. A list of marine plants found in Tanapag Harbor, Saipali may be 

found in Tobias (1977). A recent study by Nelson et al. (1982) determined 

that G. lichenoides is seasonally mailable but limited in distribution in 

Saipan Lagoon; thus, large-scale development of this resource is not possible at this time. 

that the species is ideal for outplanting and mariculture. 

Rapid growth exhibited by detacehd thalli indicated 

Sea Cucumbers 

Like sea urchins, sea cucumbers, called biiche-de-mer or trepang in the 

processed state, form a very important segment of the bottom fauna within 

the coral reefs of many central and western Pacific islands. As noted in 

an earlier section of this report, five species of sea cucumbers were 

exploited by the Japanese during the pre-World War I1 period with production centered at Truk, Palau, Ponape, Saipan, and Yap. Truk, for 

example, exported 450 t (20 to 30 t per year) mostly to Japan during the 

period of Japanese colonization. Although World War 11 interrupted growth 

and further development of this fishery, there is growing interest among 

Pacific island governments to revive this industry (Smith 1947b; South 

Pacific Commission 1974; Uchida 1978). In Papua New Guinea, Solomon 

Islands, and Fiji, the fishery has made a modest revival in recent years. 

Thirty species of holothurians occur on the reef flats and reef slope8 

of Guam; of these, 8 are utilizable as beche-de-mer (Rowe and Doty 1977) 

(Table 67). In general, the distribution of the commercially valuable 

species is patchy with the most numerous in any one localit being the 

lollyfish, Holothuria atra, at Uruno with a density of 22/m I 

At Tanapag Harbor, Saipan, Dickinson (1977) also found the lollyfish 

to be the most frequently encountered species. This species, however, is 

the least attractive of the commercially valuable species with respect to 

marketability. 

another species of commercial value; however, the distribution of this 

species was not as widespread as some of the other holothurians 

encountered. 

Also found at Tanapag Harbor was Stichopus chloronotus, 
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132 

UNIQUE AND ENDANGERED SPECIES 

The subject of endangered species is dealt with in detail in Bakus 

(1979) and the reader is referred to his work for further information. 

Briefly , the law establifihes two categories of endangerment: 

e Endangered species are those in danger of extinction throughout all 

or a significant portion of their range. 

e Threatened species are those which are likely to become endangered 

within the foreseeable future throughout all or a significant 

portion of their range. 

It is unlawful for any person or persons subject to the jurisdiction 

of the United States to import, sell, or ship in interstate or foreign commerce, harass, harm, or capture, any endangered species, within the United 

States and its territorial sea, or on the high seas. The restrictions on 

threatened species make it unlawful for any person or persons to violate 

any regulation promulgated for such species. All restrictions apply to 

live or dead specimens and to any product made from or including parts of 

the specimens (Bakus 1979). 

In addition to endangered and threatened species, there are a number 

of rare species which is defined as one that has a small population in its 

range or may either be found in a restricted geographic region or occur 

sparsely over a wide area. 

Pritchard (19771, who conducted an extensive survey of Micronesia to 

determine the status of marine turtles, reported that green and hawksbill 

turtles which are on the endangered or threatened list, apparently nest on 

beaches of Guam but only sporadically. In the period before World War 11, 

turtle eggs were harvested but this practice is not as prevalent nowadays 

as in the past. 

In the Northern Marianas, few turtles, if any, appear to nest anywhere 

in the island chain, probably as a result of shortage of nesting beaches 

(Pritchard 1977). Most of the uninhabited islands have no beaches whatsoever; Saipan has several miles of beach along the west coast but they are 

Table 68.--Summary of turtle sightings by aerial survey regions for 

fiscal years 1975 through 1979 (adapted from Molina text footnote 

22). 

Niimher of Rc-glnn Fiscal 

yenr 12 3 4 5 6 7 8 91011 12 Total monthq 

1975 14 5 18 7 21 11 9 37 IfJ (1 143 285 6 

I_ ~--- 

1976 7566 35 8 14 44 10 12 Ih2 If39 9 

1977 0311 4 I5100 8 8 41 2 

1978 6319 h 14 3 10 1 15 15 83 12 

1979 4 -1 _r -1 1 :> 2 3J 1 8 7 7 '22 - 12 

Total 31 17 27 20 69 40 73 144 5R 59 285 7R7 41 

%/region 6 4 6 4 15 8 R 31 12 13 59 
extensively developed to accommodate the islanders and tourists. Pritchard 

reported seeing in Saipan, mounted or stuffed turtles including green, 

hawksbill, and Pacific ridley, &pidochelys olivacea, for sale, all of 

which were captured locally. 

caught in increasing numbers by local divers. 

He also learned that turtles were being 

Because turtle harvesting in Guam and the Northern Marianas is geared 

for the luxury and souvenir trades rather than for subsistence, Pritchard 

recommended that the Endangered Species Act be enforced for the entire 

ar c h i pe 1 ago. 

Data from aerial sightings for fiscal years 1975-79 (Tables 68 and 69) 

indicate that marine turtles occur around Guam not only throughout the year 

but a160 in almost every sector surveyed (Molinal.22 

identification was almost impossible from the airplane, it was generally 

agreed that a large proportion of the sightings included green turtle. The 

data demonstrated that the area from Pati Point to Ritidian Point (Region 

12) was by far the most frequently visited; 36.4% of the sighting8 over the 

5-year study were from this area (Figure 33). Molina attributed 

differences in sightings among the regions to the presence or absence of 

man's activities. 

Although species 

The Guam data also showed that marine turtle abundance peaks twice 

during the year, once in the winter (December to February) and again in 

late spring (May to June) (Figure 34). Molina (footnote 22) stated that 

there is a weak correlation between peak abundance and Guam's dry seation 

which lasts from December to June. Although the data collected did not 

indicate a definite spawning period, information provided by local fishermen disclosed that nesting usually occurred in June. 

Current turtle regulations appear in the Federal Register (Vol. 43, 

No. 146, p. 32800-32811). The Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended, 

prohibits import, export, take, interstate commerce, possession, and selling of hawksbill, leatherback, Dermochelys coriacea, and Atlantic ridley 

Table 69,--Summary of turt1.e sightings by months for fiscal years 1975 

through 1979 (adapted Erom Molina text footnote 22). 

_l_m_m__.1-_1111_--.cI --- -I 

Mon t 11 PL.9csl --- Number of 

year July AUR. Sept. Oct. Nov. Der. .Jan. I'eh. Mar. Apt. Mny .June Total flights 

1975 45 h4 12 46 54 64 285 12 

1976 20 28 24 20 42 16 10 7 22 189 10 

1977 23 in 41 4 

1978 7 6 10 4 I6 17 7503 44 83 24 

1979 __ 12 __ 3 - 6 - -6 7 12 1.8 52 24 13- LO 11 lA5 -__- 24 

Totnl 42 29 44 5) 43 71 86 111 63 85 78 79 703 82 

C/rnoutli 14 12 14 13 ir+ 24 .?> 78 irl 21 I(> 76 

"Molina, M. E. 1979. Summary of marine turtle sightings made on 

aerial fishery surveys during fiscal years '75 through '79. Guam Aquat. 

Wildl. Resour. Div., Dep. Agric., Gov. Guam, Agana, GU 96910, 5 p. 

(Mimeogr . 
134 

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during fiscal years1975-79 (Molina text footnote 22). 

Figure 34.--Mean number of turtles observed per month 

during fiscal years 1.975-79 (Molina text footnote 22). 
1. 35 

turtle, ,&. ke9ji.i.. 

by permit, for the: following rensonn: 

Exception# to the Act include the capture of turtlee, 

0 For ecientif ic investigations. 

0 To enhance propugation or survival. 

0 To alleviate economic hnrdship. 

Poeseeeiop of turtle and turtle parts were also allowed under a 

grandfather clauee, 

a civil case and $20,000 in a criminal car;e. 

persons who are allegedly violating provisions of the Act. 

The penalties for violation are fines up to $10,000 in 

Citizen suits may also enjoin 

Changes in the Endangered Speciee Act of 1973 added three epecies to 

the endangered or threatened lists, an follows: 

0 Green turtle, endangered off Florida and Mexico's Pacific coast, and 

a1 1 other popul ntione arc considered threatened. 

0 Loggerhcnd turtle, Cnretta c.Ar-e&a-, all populations are threatened. 

0 Pacific ridley turtle, endangered off Mexico's Pacific coast, and 

all other populations nre considercl threatened. 

At the Ilonolulu meeting of the Planning Workshop for NMFS Reeearch on 

Marine Turtles in the Central and Weetern Pacific, it wae brought out that 

although both the green and hewksbill turtlee occur in waters around the 

Mariana Archipelago, the occurrence of the leatherback, Pacific ridley, and 

loggerhead wnu qucstionable (Shomura23). 

green turtlee were relatively abundant around Guam, but the hawksbill 

apparently were only occneional visitors. 

It was further believed that 

Whnlee, porpoiRe8 or dolphino, and whale sharks (bneking sharks) also 

occur in wntere around Gunm and the Northern Morianae. The eightinge of 

fin hale^ by the ~~ornwe1.1 hoe already been mentioned and the humpback 

whale, MeRapern novaeanjxliae, which ia aleo found in theee waters has been 

dcclared an endangered spacice. A background document for purse seining in 

the wcetern Pacific, prepared by I,MR,24 reported that waters north of Papua 

New Guinea iR a historical whaling area and that several specie8 of marine 

mnmmnle and the whale ehark are found there. Among the species mentioned 

are: 

e Spotted porpoise, St-e>ella dubin.--Found in "Trapical water8 of the 

Atlnntic, Indian, nnd Pacific Ocean, chiefly near coastal areas and 

23Shorntrra, R. S. (chairman). 1979. Summary report of the Planning 

Workehop for National Marine Fisheries Service Research on Marine Turtles 

in tho Central and Weetern Pacific, Honolulu, Hawaii, 31 July-2 August 

1979. Southwest Fish. Cent. Admin. Rep. H-79-23, 13 p. Natl. Mar. Fish. 

Serv,, NOAA, Honolulu, HI 96812. 

24Living Marine ResorirccR. 1976. Background information for purecIe~inittg in the wcetern Pacific. 64 p. (Mi.mcogr.) 
136 

islands." (Rice and Scheffer 1968:8). In the western Pacific, LMR 

(footnote 24) reported this species to be "widely distributed in 

tropical waters from the Queensland coast of Australia, north of New 

Zealand through the Solomons, northern coast of New Guinea, 

Philippines, Marianas, etc, to Japan." 

0 Spinner porpoise, 2. roseiventri.6.--Rice and Scheffer (1968) 

described the type locality as the Banda Sea and Indonesia. LMR 

(footnote 24) reported the distribution of this species to be 

similar to that of the spotted porpoise. 

e Striped porpoise, 2. caeruleoa1ba.--The distribution is worldwide in 

temperate and t.ropic.nl waters. 

White-belly or white-sided porpoise, Lanenorhvnchus ob1iquidens.-- 

Found off the coast of North America from southeastern Alaska to 

Baja California; a160 off the coast of the Asian Continent from the 

Kuriles to Japan (Rice and Scheffer (1968). 

0 Whale shark, Rhincodon typus.--Iwasaki (19700) reported that 

skipjack tuna schools in the western Pacific are often found 

associated with whale sharks. His studies showed that sightings of 

whale sharks were usually numerous in Japanese waters from April to 

December and around the Ogasawara and Marianas Islands from July to 

December (Figure 35). 

Okinawa and the Western Caroline Islands. 

In January to March, they also occur around 

Molina (footnote 22) provided data on sightings of porpoises around 

Guam. Comparison of aerial survey data for 1978 and 1979 revealed that 

total sightings of porpoises decreased nearly 22% in 1979 with significant 

declines noted for Regions 1 and 2 and on increase in Region 7. Region 11 

sightings were highest in both years. In fact, in 1979, Regions 7 and 11 

contributed the bulk of the sightings, reaching 84% of the total island 

count . 

On a whale marking cruise in the western tropical Pacific, Miyazaki 

and Wada (1978) reported sighting 103 schools of cetacea (representing 13 

species and 11 genera) including Bryde's whale, Balaenoptera edeni, sperm 

whale, Physeter Satodon, striped porpoise, spotted porpoise, spinner 

porpoise, Fraser's porpoise, Laaenodelphis hosei, melon-headed whale, 

Peponocephala electra, false killer whale, Pseudorca crassidens, killer 

whale, Orcinus orca, Risso's porpoise, Grampus griseus, short-finned pilot 

whale, Globicephala macrorhvnchus, pygmy killer whale, Feresa attenuata, 

and Cuvier's beaked whale, Ziphius cavirostris. However, only one 

sighting, that of a school of eight Risso's porpoise, was reported from 

near the Mariana Archipelago. Other sightings were mainly to the north, 

west, and south of the island chain. 

Kami and Lujan (1976) reported that the first documented record of a 

whale stranding on Guam, which occurred in September 1962, involved a 

12.2-m (40-ft) albino sperm whale, Kopia simus. They also reported on the 

stranding of two dwarf sperm whales on Guam beaches. The first was reported 

on 25 March 1970 and the second on 6 December 1974. Dwarf sperm whale has 

a distributional range extending to the Beas of South Africa, India, Sri 
137 

Figure 35.--Area of operation of skipjack tuna 

fishing vessels and distribution of whale shark 

in the western Pacific Ocean, 1955-67 (Iwasaki 

1970a). 
138 

Number of whale shark appearance. 

uo 51--100 151< 

n I-SO rn 101-150 

Figure 35.--Continued. 
131) 

Lanka, Japan, Hawaii, South Australia, and the eastern United States with 

strandings occurring most frequently on beaches of Japan and the central 

eastern United States (Bandley 1966). 

Costenable (1905) in which Saipan islanders drove a herd of &I spew whales 

into a shallow lagoon end eventually consumed them. They believe, however, 

that because the herding of sperm whales has never been documented and that 

most of the reported strandings are of single individuals, the Saipan 

incident most likely involved porpoises instead of spew whaleo. They 

noted that large herds of porpoises are often observed Cl08e to shre along 

the coasts of Guam and presumably also occur along the isla~d chain of the 

Northern Marianas. 

Kami and Lujan cite a report by 

Other species of marine mnunals have also been reported fropa waters 

around Guam. 

Balaenoptera spJ, estimated to weigh 15 tons, on 31 Awust 1978 near Sella 

Bay, and a pilot whale, Clobicephah macro,rLmchw, about 3.6 m long, on 7 

July 1980 south of Ylir Point. Randall et al. (1975) cabgerved a 2.1-2.4 rn 

(7-8 ft) long dugong, Dugong dugong, in Cocos Lagoon in February 1974, but 

it was believed that this occurrence was probably a freak incident, because 

the animal ha8 not since been reported from Guam. 

Birkeland (1977) reported strandings of a Brpae's whele, 

Table 70 lists invertebrates that are considered rare or Uncommon in 

Guam (Bakus 19791, and Table 71 lists marine mammals and reptiles observed 

or thought to occur around Guam and the Horthern Marianas together with 

designations of those species that are thought to be threatened or 

endangered. 

Table 70.--Rare and uncommon species of invertebrates from waters around 

Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands (Bakus 1979). 

Scientific name Common name Status Comment a 

Euphyllia sp. 

Pachyclavularia violacea 

Pavona frondifera 

Pectinia lactuca 

Coral 

do 

do 

do 

Plerogyra sinuosa do 

Tubastraea atirea do 

Rare 

Uncommon Orote submarine tertace 

do Apra Harbor 

do Do. 

do Double Reef, Apre Harbor, 

Rare 

Manell Channel 

Charonia tritonus Triton trumpet do Guam 

Cassia cornrrta Helmet shell do Do a 

Cypraea aurantium , Golden cowry do DO e 

Tridacna maxima Giant clam do Do. 

Linckia laevigata Pacific blue starfish do DO. 

Birgus latro Coconut crab do Do. 

-- 

CIGUATERA 

Ciguatera poisoning results from the consumption of fish that contain 

ciguatoxin, a heat-stable toxin that can be found in piscivorous fish that 

prey on reef fish. According to Randall (19791, fishes with the worst 

reputation for causing ciguatera include the larger species of barracuda, 

Sphyraena, many of the groupers such as Epinephelus, Plectropomus, and 

Cephalopholis, some of the larger snappers, for example, Lutianus, the 
140 

Table 71.--A partial list of marine mammals and reptiles observed or 

thought to be present in waters around Guam and the Northern Mariana 

Islands. Also indicated are species known or thought to be threatened 

or endangered (Nit ta) . 

Scientific name Common name 

-- 

Balaenoptera borealis? 

Balaenoptera edeni 

Megaptera novaean liae' 

Kogia sp. 

Ziphius cavirostris 

Pseudorca crassidens 

-- Grampus grixeus 

Globicephala macrorhyncus 

Tursiops sp. 

Delphinus delphis - 

Stenella sp. 

Steno bredanensis - 

Chelonia mydas3 

Eretmochelys -~ imbricata?- 

Lepidochelys olivaceaz 

Dermochelys - coriacea2 

Physeter catodon 4- 

-- 

Sei whale 

Bryde's whale 

Hump b a c k wha 1 e 

Sperm whale 

Pygmy or dwarf sperm whale 

Goose-beaked whale 

False killer whale 

Risso's dolphin 

Short-finned pilot whale 

Bottlenose dolphin 

Common dolphin 

Streaker, spinner, and spotted dolphins 

Rough-toothed dolphin 

Green turtle 

Hawksbill turtle 

Olive ridley turtle 

Leatherback turtle 

'E. T. Nitta. Western Pacific Program Office, Southwest Region, 

National Marine Fisheries Service, NOM, Honolulu, HI 96812. Pers. 

commun. , August 14, 1981. 

2Endangered. 

3Thre a t ened . 

jacks, Caranx and Seriola, and moray eels, Gymnothorax. Certain 

lethrinids, Monotaxis and Lethrinus, that feed on molluscs and echinoids 

have also been implicated as were the larger wrasses such as Cheilinus and 

Coris. Randall also reported that obligately herbivorous fishes such as 

Scarus and Acanthurus are also known to cause ciguatera, but the symptoms 

caused by eating these fishes are milder than illness resulting from consumpt ion of the carnivorous species. 

(19671, and Helfrich and Banner (1968) provide extensive reviews of the 

incidence of ciguatera in the Pacific. 

Banner and Helfrich ( 1964) , Halstead 

In the Pacific, ciguatera occurs between the 300 parallels of latitude 

(Helfrich et al. 1968). The occurrence of ciguatera in some valuable food 

fish found in the central and western Pacific not only affects the population by causing illness but also, as is often the case, deprives them of a 

major source of much needed protein. Furthermore, in areas where outbreaks 

have occurred, it has restricted full development of fisheries and utiliza- 
14 1 

tion of the available fish stocks (Uchida 1978; Ito and Uchida 1980; Uchida 

et a1.) .25 

Ciguatoxin, when ingested, causes discomfort of varying severity 

usually to the nervous and digestive systems. 

rare. An attack is more likely to produce vomiting, diarrhea, itching of 

the skin, 1066 of motor ability, reversal of hot-cold sensation, tingling 

of the lips, mouth, and finger tips, and in some severe cases, respiratory 

difficulties. 

Fatalities are extremely 

Prior to 1977, ressearch on ciguatera relied heavily on relatively 

crude bioassays to detect the presence of the toxin in fish tissues (Banner 

et al. 1960, 1961). In 1977, significant breakthroughs in ciguatera 

research were made by Yasumoto et al. (19771, who identified a dinoflagellate, Gambierdiscus toxicus, as the likely causative agent in ciguatera 

outbreaks, and by Hokama et al. (19771, who developed the radioimunoassay 

(RIA) method for detecting cip,uatoxi.n. 

The application of the sensitive immunological methods for the 

detection of marine toxins such as ciguatoxin led to extensive testing of 

fishes caught during NMFS field surveys by the NOAA ship Townsend Crowell 

in waters around the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI), American Samoa, 

Western Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Marianas. 

Of the 296 fish sampled during cruise TC-78-02 in May-June 1978 to 

waters around Guam and the Northern Marianas, about 4% were rejected by RIA 

(Table 72). In comparison, the RIA rejected 15% of the NWHI fishes and 19% 

of the fishes sampled in American Samoa and Western Samoa. Uchida et al. 

(footnote 25) reported that species rejected one or more times from the 

Guam/Northern Marianas samples included pink opakapaka, twinspot snapper, 

blueline snapper, humpback snapper, blackjack, blue trevally, and rainbow 

runner. For samples of 10 or more fish, the highest rejection rate (17%) 

occurred in the taape. Concerning area, an isolated pinnacle located at 

lat. 14013' N and long. 142053' E and about 138 mi due west of Rota had 

the highest rate of rejection. 

25Uchida, R. N., B. M. Ito, P. M. Shiota, D. T. Tagami, K. P. Wendel, 

V. A. Honda, and M. P. Seki. 1981. Status of the Honolulu Laboratory 

ciguatera research on fishes of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, American 

Samoa, Western Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands. Report 

presented at the Pacific Ciguatera Warkshop, Honolulu, Hawaii, 18-20 

March 1981. WP/3, 18 p. (Mimeogr.) 
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LITERATURE CITED 

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~ . .. . .. . -- - ^^. 
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Abundance estimation of dolphin stocks involved in the eastern 

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(November 1982) 

Revised update and retrieval system for the CalCOFl oceanographic data file. 

L. EBER and N. WILEY 

(December 1982) 

A preliminary study of dolphin release procedures using model 

D. 8. HOLTS and J. M. COE 

(December 1982) 

"Possible effects of sampling biases on reproduction rate estimates 

T. POLACHECK 

(January 1983) 

"Reports of porpoise experiment testing detection of on-track 

R. S. HOLT 

(February 1983) 

"Two computer programs to project populations with time-varyinq 

T. GERRODETTE. D. GOODMAN & J. BARLOW 

(February 1983) 

Report of eastern tropical Pacific research vessel marine mammal 

R. S. HOLT 

(March 19831 

Estimating age of spotted and spinner dolphins/Stene/la attenuata 

A. C. MYRICK, JR., A. A. HOHN. P. A. SLOAN, M. KlMURA 

. and D. D. STANLEY 

(April 1983) 

Re-estimation of three parameters associated with anchovy 

egg and larval abundance: Temperature dependent incubation 

time, yolk-sac growth rate and egg and larval retention in 

mesh nets. 

N. C. H. LO 

(May 1983) 

purse seines. 

for porpoise in the eastern tropical Pacific." 

schools (pet dots), March 7-April 5. 1981 ." 

vital rates." 

survey, May 15.August 3, 1982. 

and Stenella longirostris) from teeth. 

"NMFS guidelines on economic valuation of marine recreational 

D. D. HUPPERT 

(June 1983) 

fishing"