Annual Catch Limit
One of the many tools in fisheries management to prevent overfishing is to specify a cap or limit on the maximum amount that a fishery is allowed to harvest. This maximum amount is referred to as an Annual Catch Limit (ACL). ACLs may apply to all fishers or specific groups such as commercial or non-commercial.
ACL monitoring is critical for both managers and fishers so they know when a fishery is approaching a limit and when harvest must stop. Monitoring of federally co-managed ACLs is performed by NOAA ‘s Pacific Islands Fisheries Science center. Hawai’i fisheries have several ACLs, the following are the most prominent:
- Main Hawaiian Island “Deep 7” Bottomfish ACL – Federal and State co-managed fishery based on the fisheries management plan.
- Kala and Uhu ACL – State managed fishery based on the historical reported sales.
- Kona Crab – Federal and State co-managed fishery based on the fisheries management plan.
- Uku – Federal and State co-managed fishery based on the fisheries management plan.
The ACL monitoring dashboards will be updated monthly. As an ACL approaches its limit, the state will begin to provide more frequent updates to provide fishers the latest information on their fishery.
The ACL monitoring dashboard has several main features:
- A gauge which measures how much of the ACL has been reached.
- A graph which tracks catch or purchases for the current fishing year and may provide the most recent fishing years for context.
- A downloadable PDF summary of monthly fish catch and effort as well as dealer purchases.
- Select fisheries may have additional plots:
- Comparison of current and past fishing trips per month.
- Percent catch and pounds by species.
This web page and ACL monitoring dashboard were created to increase transparency and improve communication about ACL status with co-managers and the public. These dashboards inform our stories, and we encourage input. If there are suggestions, questions, or comments, please contact us at [email protected]