Identifying Preferred Habitats for Hawaii’s Deep Commercial Bottomfish Species
Date
2013
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Hawaii’s deep commercial bottomfish fishery includes 6 species snappers, Opakapaka (Pristipomoides filamentosus), Kalekale (Pristipomoides sieboldii), Gindai (Pristipomoides zonatus), Onaga (Etelis coruscans), Ehu (Etelis carbunculus), and Lehi (Aphareus rutilans), and 1 grouper, Hapuupuu (Ephinephelus quernus). With the observed decline in Deep 7 populations around the main Hawaiian Islands, the State of Hawaii established 12 bottomfish restricted fishing areas (BRFAs) selected using the Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) concept. The EFH definition for all Hawaii bottomfish is “all bottom waters between 100 and 400 meters”. This has been defined in general due to lack of available information on bottomfish ecology. The goal of this study is to quantitatively identify species-specific habitat preferences using in-situ videographic techniques to aid in the redefinition of the essential fish habitat for Hawaii’s deep commercial bottomfish. Deep 7 population density data from three BRFAs gathered with the use of a Bottom Camera Bait Station (BOTCAM) were correlated to multibeam classified and visually classified habitats in order to identify habitat preferences. Four basic habitat types were used on the basis of substrate hardness and slope: hard-high, hard-low, soft-high and soft-low. Opakapaka and Onaga showed a preference for hard substrates but no slope preference. Kalekale and Hapuupuu showed a strong preference for hard-high habitats. Gindai showed a suggestion of hard-high preference while Ehu and Lehi exhibited no significant preference for any of the basic habitats. With the species-specific habitat preferences seen, new elements such as hardness of substrate and slope may then be included in a modified EFH definition for Hawaii bottomfish in an improved ecological management approach.
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deep sea ecology
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37 pages
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