About the Data
What an Annual Catch Limit is
One of the tools used in fisheries management to prevent overfishing is a cap on the maximum amount a fishery may harvest in a year. That cap is the Annual Catch Limit, or ACL.
An ACL may apply to every fisher, or only to a particular group such as commercial or non-commercial fishers. This distinction matters when reading this dashboard: where a limit covers more than commercial harvest, commercial reports alone cannot measure progress toward it.
Monitoring of federally co-managed ACLs is carried out by NOAA’s Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center.
The fisheries shown here
| Fishery | Management | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Deep 7 Bottomfish (Main Hawaiian Islands) | Federal and State co-managed | Fisheries management plan |
| Uku | Federal and State co-managed | Fisheries management plan |
| Kona Crab | Federal and State co-managed | Fisheries management plan |
| Kala | State managed | Historical reported sales |
| Uhu | State managed | Historical reported sales |
What the dashboard shows
- A gauge measuring how much of the ACL has been reached.
- A graph tracking catch or purchases for the current fishing year, with recent fishing years shown for context.
- A downloadable PDF summarising monthly catch and effort, and dealer purchases.
- For some fisheries, additional plots: fishing trips per month compared across years, and percent of catch and pounds by species.
Where the data comes from
Figures are drawn from two mandatory commercial reporting streams:
- Fisher Reports, submitted by Commercial Marine License holders, recording trips and catch.
- Dealer Reports, submitted by licensed dealers, recording purchases.
Which stream a fishery is measured against depends on how that fishery is managed. Deep 7, Uku and Kona Crab are tracked from fisher reports. Kala and Uhu are tracked from dealer reports, consistent with limits set from historical reported sales. Both streams appear in the downloadable PDF.
How current the figures are
Dashboards are updated monthly. As a fishery approaches its limit, DAR provides more frequent updates so fishers have the latest information.
Reports are submitted after the fact and take time to arrive and be processed, so figures shown here are not real time. The dashboard reports through the most recent complete reporting month rather than through today. Every gauge carries an “as of” date, which is the end of that reporting period.
The footer shows when the page was last built. These two dates differ, and both matter: one tells you how fresh the page is, the other how fresh the data is.
Because reports continue to arrive after a month closes, recent figures may rise in later updates. A figure published this month is a floor, not a final value. Season totals settle once reporting for that season is complete.
Fishing years differ by fishery
Each fishery has its own season, and they do not align:
| Fishery | Season |
|---|---|
| Deep 7 Bottomfish | September 1 – August 31 |
| Uhu | June 1 – May 31 |
| Kala | August 1 – July 31 |
| Kona Crab | January 1 – December 31 |
| Uku | January 1 – December 31 |
Two fisheries shown on the same page can therefore be in different fishing years at the same time. A gauge resetting toward zero usually means that fishery has begun a new season.
Annual Catch Targets
Some fisheries are managed against an Annual Catch Target (ACT) set below the ACL, so that management action can be taken before the limit itself is reached. Where a fishery has an ACT, the gauge measures against the ACT and the season graph shows both levels.
Uku
Uku has an ACL, but it is not one that commercial catch alone can be tracked against, because the limit covers more than commercial harvest. Measuring commercial landings against a whole-fishery limit would understate total removals. The Uku panel therefore reports pounds landed and shows no percentage.
Closures
When a fishery closes, its panel shows the closure date and the season’s reported catch to that point, and the season graph ends at the closure. Fisheries with a regulated seasonal closure show a break in the graph across the closed months.
Closure decisions are made by DAR and communicated directly to Commercial Marine License holders. This dashboard reflects those decisions; it is not the mechanism for them.
A closed fishery’s panel returns to a gauge when its next season opens.
Confidential data
Some figures in the downloadable PDF appear as an asterisk (*).
Figures are withheld where fewer than three fishers or fewer than three dealers are represented, so that an individual’s activity cannot be identified. Where withholding a single figure would still allow it to be recovered by subtracting the visible figures from a total, further figures are withheld. This is why a block may contain two or more asterisks when only one figure is sensitive.
Withheld figures remain included in totals.
Questions and feedback
These dashboards were created to increase transparency and improve communication about ACL status with co-managers and the public. Input is welcome.
Contact the Division of Aquatic Resources through the DAR contact page, or see the Annual Catch Limit page for more on how ACLs are set and monitored.