Outline Significance Background Bonefish Hawaiian bonefishes Tagging program Future Research

Significance The life cycle of bonefish (Abula spp) is not completely known Two species of bonefish are found in Hawaiian waters (Shaklee and Tamaru 1981) Significant differences between species feeding apparatuses and fishes live in sympatry Hawaiian bonefish have little economic importance No life history studies performed on Hawaiian bonefish Florida’s bonefish recreational fishery is worth over a billion dollars and most bonefish research has been conducted in the Atlantic Ocean (Ault 2005)

Significance: A case of resource partitioning? Slightly overlapping habitats Externally indistinguishable Significantly different feeding apparatus Genetically distinct, diverged approximately 20 million years Morphological & perhaps ecological slow to diverge Albula glossodonta (roundjaw), regulated Albula virgata (sharpjaw)

Outline Significance Background Bonefish

Cosmopolitan species Tropical & sub tropical waters Sand and grass flats Most species are morphologically indistinguishable Highly prized as game and food A. vulpes A. nemoptera

Outline Significance and Hypotheses Background Bonefish Hawaiian bonefishes

Importance of Bonefish in Hawaiian Culture ‘Ō‘io – Hawaiian name for bonefish Important in ancient Hawaiian fish pond aquaculture Archeological surveys found 11% of fish remains were bonefish (Longenecker & Dye 2009) Often eaten raw mixed with limu (seaweed) or in fish cakes Fishing methods: nets, line fishing from canoe (w/ chum) (Titcomb 1972)

Length-frequency distribution (FL - mm) for both Albula spp. (N = 978)

Albula glossodonta “Round jaw” Albula virgata “Sharp jaw” Photo provided by Kurt Kawamoto Hawaiian Bonefish

Internal Differences A. glossodonta (Randall, J.E. 1981) virgata A. glossodontaA. virgata parashpenoid tooth patch ovalelongate basibranchial tooth patch broadly oval elongate and nearly rectangular # of upper gill rakers # of lower gill rakers # of lateral lines scales # vertebrae snout to upper jaw (cm) A. virgata

Hawaiian Bonefish Today Recreational Subsistence Commercial Bonefish Landings Hawaii Market data Commercial Fishing Reports

Outline Significance Background Bonefish Hawaiian bonefishes Tagging program

Tag and Release Program Volunteer Anglers Tag-and-release program 50 anglers, primarily fly-fishers 2008 Tag-and-release program 3 month pilot program 32 anglers Recruited previous program’s anglers January anglers Recruited mixed gear fishing clubs Annual fishing & seafood festival Volunteers with State of Hawai‘i Ulua/papio tagging project

Tag and Release Program Catch rates Growth rates Site fidelity Migration routes Encourage conservation by catch and release

Results LocationsNo. Tagged Total Caught Effort Hours CPUE East Shore Ewa Beach Kahana Bay Kailua Bay Kaneohe Bay Kauai65N/A Lanai Malama Bay Maunalua Bay North East North Shore Waimanalo West Shore Totals Fishing success by large locations for all tag reports June August Volunteer Angler Biases Inaccurate measurement Missing information Varied experience

1,947 ‘ō‘io tagged May 2003 to August % roundjaw, 19% sharpjaw 25 total recaptures (1.3%) uneven coverage ( Biases: Habitat, Fisheries ) Major tagging locations for ‘ō‘io on Oahu

Movement patterns of bonefish from tag-recapture program Average distance 1.0 km 1 exception recapture 78.9 km, off Molokai Average time at-large 290 days Maximum time at-large 1,693 days

‘Ō’io Tagging Project Recaptures Tag DateSpecies Tag Location FL Recap. Date Recap. Location FL2 Days at Large Tag No. 2/11/2005Round JawPaiko Dr /25/2009Hawaii Kai /17/2005Round JawAla Moana 2/8/2009Ala Moana ? 8/28/2005Round JawKaneohe Bay 1/12/2009 Kaneohe Bay South /18/2008Round JawAina Haina /4/2009Aina Haina /1/2008Sharp JawKaiser’s Pier /30/2009Kaiser’s Pier /15/2008Sharp JawKaiser’s Pier 12/10/2008Kaiser’s Pier /8/2008Round JawPaiko Dr /10/2008Paiko Dr /12/2009Round JawKeehi Lagoon /5/2010Keehi Lagoon /1/2009Round JawHickam AFB /6/2009Hickam AFB /1/2009Round JawHickam AFB /28/2010Hickam AFB /25/2009Sharp JawWaiau HECO /11/2010Waiau HECO /3/2009Round JawSand Island /17/2009Sand Island /13/2009Round JawHawaii Kai /13/2009Hawaii Kai /27/2009Round JawHickam AFB /19/2010Hickam AFB /20/2010Round JawWaiau HECO /15/2010Pearl Harbor Recaptured tagged bonefish with original tag reports from June August 2010.

‘Ō’io Tagging Project Activities O ʻ ahu shoreline fishing tournaments Sponsor tagging categories Classroom demonstrations Hawai ʻ i Seafood & Fishing Festival Ocean Expo/Ocean University

Outline Significance Background Bonefish Hawaiian bonefishes Tagging program Future Research

Provide species-specific biological information Age and growth rates Bulk and compound specific SIA Acoustic tagging Establish L 50 Open tagging project state wide Determine fishing effort & value of recreational fishery Education and outreach

Dave McCoy, Emerald Water Anglers