Fisheries Statistics

Fisheries Statistics

The DLNR-DAR collects various data for use in monitoring and assessing the aquatic resources of the State. It does this through fishing reports from fishermen, marine life and habitat surveys (fish counts/transects, etc.), creel surveys, port surveys, fish market sampling, and other scientific surveys.

Commercial Fishing Reports

The largest and oldest dataset in DLNR-DAR’s fisheries data collection is the commercial fishing report. These reports have been collected, processed, compiled, and archived continuously since 1948. Fishermen who take marine life for commercial purposes must have a valid Commercial Marine License and may be required to report their fishing effort and total catch on a commercial fishing report form (§189-2 and §189-3, Hawaii Revised Statutes). These data are used extensively by DLNR-DAR and authorized federal fisheries management agencies for monitoring fisheries and assessing the health of the marine resources in near-shore and offshore areas in the Exclusive Economic Zone around the State of Hawaii. The fishing report data are especially valuable because they provide a good source of time-series information for analyzing landing trends in the State’s fisheries. Fishery managers rely on the data to make recommendations and render decisions to manage fisheries for the long-term, or in other words, maintain sustainable fisheries. Fishermen who complete and submit accurate fishing reports on a timely basis are truly partners in fisheries management with a common goal of making sure that we have fish for future generations.

The data that individual fishermen report on the commercial fishing report is confidential and protected by State law (§189-3, HRS) and can only be released to the public in summarized form. The latest calendar year summaries are available from the links below.

NOTE: The reports are downloaded as PDF files.