WP3: Deepwater snapper Towards improved stock assessments and management

Outline Background Results achieved Project sustainability Work plan for 2015 Recommendations

Background Deepwater snapper are an important fisheries resource in many PICTs Declines in catches in some PICTs have raised concerns about sustainability Lack of adequate biological and fisheries data has limited development of quantitative assessments and management plans

Background At 2011 HoF meeting, members endorsed SPC efforts to seek funding to support a deepwater snapper project SPC obtained funding from: – Australia, Fisheries for Food Security ( ) Vanuatu, Samoa, Tonga, and the Marshall Islands – French Pacific Fund ( ) & French Development Agency ( ) New Caledonia

Deepwater snapper workshop Deepwater snapper workshop held at SPC in July 2011 Identify priority information and training needs Participants from 12 PICTs The agreed outcomes from the workshop included a work plan for SPC’s deepwater snapper activities

Work Plan There are 4 priority areas: 1.Fisheries data collection 2.Improving biological knowledge 3.Fisheries assessment and management 4.Capacity development

Results achieved

Fisheries Data Collection

Catch and Effort Data SPC’s artisanal fisheries database (TUF-ART) considered best option to manage deepwater snapper data Standardises data collection & management Provides consistency in how and what data are collected Minimises development and maintenance costs Facilitates comparisons of fisheries among countries

Fishing Logsheet TUF-ART Database Data management TUF-ART database installed in many countries (Cook Islands, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Niue, Samoa, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu)

Port sampling programs Established & supported development of fisheries monitoring programs in Tonga, Vanuatu, Samoa, New Caledonia & PNG Fisheries officers trained in biological sampling Successful ongoing data collection programs will require continued support from Fisheries Departments

Improving Biological Knowledge

Biological Sampling Scientific cruises Port sampling

Samples collected from >4000 fish Samples collected include: Otoliths – age, longevity & growth, Gonads – sex, maturity, fecundity & spawning Fin clips & muscle – genetics, define stocks Biological Sampling

Identified new species – Pygmy Ruby Snapper (Etelis marshi) Developed methods to distinguish from similar species – Ruby snapper (Etelis carbunculus) New Species Ruby Snapper (Etelis carbunculus) Pygmy Ruby Snapper (Etelis marshi) Black tip on tail Operculum spine Otolith shape

Species Identification Waterproof species identification cards for fishers and port samplers Distributed to Fiji, Marshall Islands, New Caledonia, PNG, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, and Vanuatu

Fishers know where to catch deepwater snapper, but the full extent of their habitat is unknown Knowledge of deepwater snapper habitat can help make informed management decisions – i.e spatial planning, development opportunities We used fisheries and oceanographic data used to model potential distribution of deepwater snapper across WCPO Deepwater Snapper Habitat

We produced maps of the predicted distribution of deepwater snapper across the WCPO Deepwater Snapper Habitat

Ruby snapper (Etelis carbunculus) Pygmy ruby snapper (Etelis marshi) Flame snapper (Etelis coruscans) Crimson jobfish (Pristipomoides filamentosus) Main Target Species

Age information needed to estimate longevity, growth rates etc. We estimate age by counting bands in sectioned otoliths Age estimation 1 mm

E. marshi P. filamentosus E. coruscans E. carbunculus Age estimation

Growth Slow growth rates Extended longevity (> 30 years)

Fisheries assessment and management

Traditional stock assessments require a long time series of reliable catch and effort data For deepwater snapper, the cost of collecting these data is not commensurate with the economic value of most fisheries Need an alternative approach for deepwater snapper For other data-poor fisheries, simple indicators (e.g. % mature fish in catch) have been used Indicators could be an appropriate method for evaluating the sustainability of deepwater snapper fisheries

Back to Growth...

Age-based indicators Length is a poor indicator of age for deepwater snapper Need to develop age-based indicators Problem... Age estimates from counting bands in sectioned otoliths is time consuming and costly A cost effective solution... Otolith measurements (weight, thickness etc) are good predictors of age Cheaper, easier and quicker

WeightLength WidthThickness Otolith Measurements We measured otoliths from 4 species Simple and rapid procedure

Age Composition Age (years) Number of fish Age (years)

Age Composition Otolith measurements can be used to obtain age compositions of deepwater snapper Measuring otoliths is cheaper, easier and quicker than sectioning otoliths – $10,000 to section and read 500 otoliths – $100 to measure 500 otoliths Fisheries officers have been trained in removing otoliths Otolith sampling programs ongoing in Tonga and Vanuatu Age compositions provide valuable information about the stock

Fished population Information on fishing mortality Unfished population Information on natural mortality Age-based Indicators - Mortality Low Fishing mortality Moderate Fishing mortality High Fishing mortality Age (years) Number of fish

Other age-based Indicators If we know about growth, maturity and fecundity, other indicators include:  % mature age fish ‘Let them spawn’  % fish at optimum age ‘Let them grow’  % very old fish ‘Let mega-spawners live’

Age-based Indicators Age (years) Number of fish ` ` Immature Optimum Age 29% 12% Mega Spawners Mature 71%16% Mature at 8 years Optimum age years

Age-based Indicators Age (years) Number of fish ` ` Immature Optimum Age 70% 0% Mega Spawners Mature 30%0% Mature at 8 years Optimum age years

Age-based Indicators Age-based indicators can inform us about the sustainability of the fishery And they can be used to trigger the implementation of harvest control rules, e.g. Fishing mortality (F)Harvest rule F < 50% Natural mortality Number of licenses may increase F = Natural mortalityNumber of licenses remains constant F > 150% Natural mortality Number of licenses reduced

Age-based Indicators Age-based indicators can now be used for deepwater snapper because:  Cruises have provided reference age composition data from near unexploited populations – natural mortality  Methods have been developed to derive age compositions from otolith measurements  Monitoring programs have been established and are ongoing in Tonga and Vanuatu  Reproductive biology will be available in 2015

Capacity development

Supported 4 Pacific Islanders to complete postgraduate degrees Samoa – Ueta Fa’asili Jr (MSc, University of Wollongong) “Review of Samoa’s Deepwater Snapper Fisheries Data” Tuvalu – Etuati Poulasi (MSc, Australian Maritime College) – 2013 “Age, growth and reproductive biology of saddleback snapper Paracaesio kusakarii” Vanuatu – Jeremie Kaltavara (MSc, Australian Maritime College) “Biology and Fishery of the Deepwater Eteline Snappers in Vanuatu” Tonga – Hau Halafihi (PhD, University of Canterbury) “Ecology and biology of Etelis coruscans and Pristipomoides filamentosus at seamounts: Case Study at Tonga Deepwater Drop-line Fishery”

Project Sustainability Monitoring – Maintaining data collection and using TUF-ART to manage data (on track for Vanuatu and Tonga) Assessments – Trained staff are retained in the Departments to continue the assessment work (on track for Vanuatu and Tonga) Project extension – Extension of project to other countries (PNG, New Caledonia, Fiji, Wallis & Futuna) Knowledge generation – project has seeded Pacific- wide collaborations

Project Sustainability Knowledge areaCollaborator Stock Structure: Genetics University of Canterbury, New Zealand University of Hawaii, USA Otolith ChemistryJames Cook University, Australia Otolith ShapeDepartment of Renewable Marine Resources, Spain ParasitesCoastal Fisheries Programme, SPC Biology/EcologyDepartment of Fisheries, Western Australia Economic analysis, adaptive management (Tonga) National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, New Zealand

Work Plan for 2015 Project concludes in November 2015 Priorities for 2015: – Process the remaining otoliths and gonads – Provide estimates of growth, mortality and reproductive biology of key deepwater snapper species – Provide the first evaluation of the sustainability of a deepwater snapper fishery using age-based indicators

Recommendations Heads of Fisheries are invited to note: The progress that has been made to date The project will end in November 2015 Project sustainability is dependent on continued data collection programs and port sampling activities. Resources for these activities will need to be sourced once the current project is completed. The indicator approach for assessing deepwater snapper fisheries would also be suitable for other data-poor coastal and oceanic fisheries

SPC Deepwater snapper webpage: deepwater-snapper-resources For more information... Project objectives & strategies Project outputs Journal publications Newsletter articles Fact sheets Species ID booklet