NOAA Fisheries works with NMI to close fisheries data gap

NOAA Fisheries is looking to help close the “gap” in fisheries data in the CNMI, but funding and staffing deficiencies, as well as current survey methods, may pose challenges to this, according to Insular Fisheries Monitoring Program manager Kimberly Lowe last week.

Improved data would help the CNMI further monitor their resources to see if they are overfishing, if they are fishing sustainably, or even if something is happening to fisheries like habitat destruction from erosion choking up coral reefs, for example.

Lowe met with acting Department of Land and Natural Resources secretary Richard Seman earlier this month. She called Seman “very supportive of this effort,” and they are working on “some good ideas together.”

NOAA Fisheries has worked with the Division of Fish and Wildlife staff on fishery data collection on activities—from trolling, to hook and line fishing—but one of the things they are focusing on now is what they call “the gap” in data that occurs during late and early hours of the day.

“The CNMI’s fisheries have changed quite a bit since the surveys began and we need to adapt to those changes.  Funding is part of the deficiency. We could use more survey hours. Plus, the current methods may not be ideal to cover all fishing methods and ways of accessing the ocean,” she said.

“For example, spear fishing is often hard to reach by monitoring shorelines or boat ramps, because fishermen may wade out to the edge of the reef and they are not reached to conduct an interview when they return.”

They may be able to develop survey methods that better reach fishermen via a telephone survey or some other form of outreach, she said. Market surveys have worked fairly well for commercial fishermen “but that is only part of the picture,” she noted.

Lowe said that Seman actually took part in DFW’s fishing surveys as a young man and rose to become DFW director, and now secretary. “So he has an in-depth knowledge of this work,” she said.

“As he [earlier] stated, part of the ‘gap’ is missed fishing activity that takes place during the hours when DFW is not at work,” she said.

Right now, NOAA Fisheries Pacific Islands Fisheries Center is trying to help enhance staffing at DFW to improve their ability to cover more of the times of day and locations when fishermen come in. 

“We are working with DLNR/DFW to provide staff (which means funding) and technical training to improve data analysis,” noted Lowe.

PIFSC staff is also working with DFW to develop methods that better cover rare or hard- to-reach fishing activity, she said.

According to Seman earlier, the “gap” occurs between the hours of 10pm to 4am, as government operations that survey and weigh fish and interview fishermen occur from 4am to 10pm.

“We are looking at ways in which we can address that gap by perhaps creating new jobs or responsibilities that focuses on those particular timeline…Right now, the current staffing of the Division and Fish and Wildlife is enough for the kind of schedule that they have but to start working on the other hours may require additional staffing,” he had said.