‘Long-Line’ Fishing

Hawaii Experiments With Big Tuna

THE 65-ft fisheries research vessel Makua, of the Division of Fish and Game of Hawaii, recently made a 3-days’ experimental long ling fishing cruise off the Waianae coast.

The objective of this research is to design a type of tuna longling or flagline gear that can be operated at a higher level of efficiency. Tuna longlining as used in Hawaii for many years, is the only fishing method now known that can tap the stocks of large, deep-swimming tuna around Hawaii and located in abundance in the equatorial waters south of the Islands by Hawaii based research ships.

The method is widely and suc cessfully used by the Japanese throughout the western Pacific, southeast Asian waters, and the Indian Ocean. In its traditional form, however, their gear requires so much labour in relation to the amount of tuna caught that it is becoming more difficult for longline fishermen in Hawaii to make a liv ing. Even on the rich grounds along the Equator the pioneer at :empts to fish longlines commerci ally have not been very successful financially.

Japanese longline vessels, with irews of 25 to 30 men, work as much is 16 hours a day to fish around 1,500 hooks, for an average daily latch of less than 5 tons of tuna. f the longline fishing method is to )ay European fishermen adequately or arduous and hazardous work, nany more hooks, with far fewer nen, must be used.

Experiments being made by the wo fishery research agencies in lawaii include: • Substitute steel cable for the otton line now in use for long ines. • Reel up the line continuously n drums instead of separately stow ag the many component units of ear at the end of each day’s fish ag. • Devise a system by which the ranch or hook lines will be auto latically attached at the proper in ervals to the trunk or main line s it is paid out into the sea.

The gear tested on the latest lakua cruise was of this descrip ion, and comprised 24 units, or baskets,” each with 11 hooks, or a Dtal of 264 books. The experimental ear worked without any serious ifficulties, but recovery proceeded lowly because of the crew’s un amilarity with the gear, and results jere negligible. Earlier experiments indicated that a possible difficulty fith steel longlines might be their

relative lack of elasticity, which would keep them from “playing” hooked fish and would result in the tearing out of the hooks from the mouths of large, heavy tuna. With the object of providing a degree of shock-absorbing effect, a number of branch lines made of 3/16-inch nylon were tested and found pro mising.

The Fiji Director of Lands (chairman), the Medical Officer of Health, Suva, the Executive En gineer, Suva, and Mr. P. Costello have been appointed to be mem bers of the Sub-division of Land Board for a period of two years from January 1, 1955.