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Technical Documentation, State of the Ecosystem Report

33 Highly Migratory Species Landings

Description: Aggregated Atlantic HMS landings data prepared for the Fisheries of the United States (FUS) report, spanning 2015-2023.

Found in: State of the Ecosystem - Gulf of Maine & Georges Bank (2020(Different Methods), 2021+), State of the Ecosystem - Mid-Atlantic (2020(Different Methods), 2021+), State of the Ecosystem - Indicator Catalog (2024+)

Indicator category: Database pull with analysis

Contributor(s): Heather Baertlein, Jackie Wilson, George Silva, Jennifer Cudney

Data steward: Jennifer Cudney

Point of contact: Jennifer Cudney

Public availability statement: Source data are NOT publicly available. Confidential data may be released in “any aggregate or summary form which does not directly or indirectly disclose the identity or business of any person who submits such information” (Magnuson-Stevens Act § 402(b)(3); 16 U.S.C. 1881a(b)(3)). NOAA Fisheries presents such information only if it can be aggregated or summarized at a temporal and/or spatial level to maintain confidentiality of individuals, businesses, and related business information. Data that has been properly screened to meet data standards and confidentiality are publicly available via the Fisheries of the United States (FUS) landings portal. Canadian landings information, which are included in this analysis, are not included in the FUS portal (https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/sustainable-fisheries/commercial-fisheries-landings). Data should be aggregated to protect data confidentiality (raw data are lumped by year and species). Data were included in the final summary unless there were 2 or less dealers involved in the landings, 2 or less vessels, or if any one dealer or vessel purchased/landed more than 2/3 of the total amount for that data unit. Please email for further information and queries of source data.

33.1 Methods

33.1.1 Data sources

The main source of dealer data for HMS landings are from the eDealer database (https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/atlantic-highly-migratory-species/atlantic-highly-migratory-species-dealer-reporting) for sharks, swordfish, and BAYS (bigeye, albacore, yellowfin, and skipjack) tunas, and Bluefin Tuna Dealer reports from the Standard Atlantic Fisheries Information System (SAFIS” (https://www.accsp.org/what-we-do/safis/) for bluefin tuna. Please note that the eDealer data are the same dealer (landings) data received by GARFO and SERO.

Data from the eDealer database are supplemented with Atlantic Coastal Cooperative Statistics Program (ACCSP) records, GulfFIN records (https://data.gsmfc.org/), Caribbean commercial logbook catches, and pelagic and coastal fisheries vessel logbook catches reported to SEFSC for which no dealer reports were submitted (https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/southeast/resources-fishing/southeast-recordkeeping-and-reporting-forms).

All efforts are made by Atlantic HMS staff to identify and include landings of highly migratory species from other data sources into our data collection, as well as to ensure replication of landings do not exist. Landings from other sources should not be added to totals provided by the HMS Division without consultation.

33.1.2 Data analysis

Landings by state were grouped into ‘ecological production units’ (EPUs), as defined by GARFO staff. “New England” includes landings in Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts, as well as landings from Canada. The “Mid-Atlantic Bight” includes landings from states, Rhode Island to North Carolina. Landings in states outside of these EPUs were excluded from further summaries.

Seven HMS Management Groups represent 26 highly migratory species which were landed in the northeast region between 2015-2024. HMS Management Groups may include a single species or a group of species. HMS groups include “Bluefin Tuna”, “BAYS”, “Swordfish”, “Large Coastal Sharks”, “Small Coastal Sharks”, “Pelagic Sharks”, “Smoothhound Sharks”. “BAYS” includes bigeye, albacore, yellowfin and skipjack tunas. “Large Coastal Sharks” includes blacktip, bull, great hammerhead, scalloped hammerhead, smooth hammerhead, lemon, nurse, sandbar, silky, spinner, and tiger sharks. “Small Coastal Sharks” includes Atlantic sharpnose, blacknose, bonnethead, finetooth sharks. “Pelagic Sharks” includes blue, porbeagle, shortfin mako, and thresher sharks. “Smoothhound Sharks” includes smooth dogfish shark.

33.1.3 Data processing

33.1.3.1 Extraction

Records of Atlantic shark, swordfish, bigeye tuna, albacore tuna, yellowfin tuna and skipjack tuna landings, areextracted from our HMS eDealer database and combined with the Caribbean Commercial vessel logbook database. Additional landings of these HMS not in eDealer are collected from ACCSP, GulfFIN, and the SEFSC Atlantic HMS vessel logbook databases. Bluefin tuna landings data from the Bluefin Tuna Dealer reports in SAFIS were also extracted and combined with the eDealer data for other HMS.

For these summaries, the data extracted from the HMS data sources was limited to HMS product landed in the northeast states (North Carolina north to Maine, including Canada). Additionally, any product that generated less than $1,000 in annual regional landings was excluded to reduce or avoid issues with data confidentiality

33.1.3.2 Processing

Data were processed and analyzed using SAS and Microsoft Excel pivot tables. The count of entities represented was used to determine if a sufficient number of records were available to make the data public or if it needed to be marked as confidential; generally, data were marked confidential if it did not meet the “rule of three” (i.e., at least three unique entities represented).

Procedures of quality assurance were conducted. Duplicate records were removed from the data. This may occur from multiple submissions of reports by the same dealer. It may also occur when two or more dealers report the same landings in “Packing” situations. While most vessels immediately sell their catch to the dealer at their port of landing, some vessels sell their catch to a dealer(s) in another location. Transport to alternate locations requires processing of the fish to preserve quality. This processing activity is done by the dealer at the port of landing and is referred to as “Packing”. Differences in federal and state reporting requirements and definitions of who is considered the “dealer” of the product, and thus ultimately responsible for submitting the landings report, may result in multiple reports being created for the same landings. These duplicate reports need to be accounted for when summarizing the data to reflect accurate landings prior to summarizing the data for analyses, including the Fisheries of the United States.

All reported landings were converted to live weights using conversion ratios appropriate for the species/species group and reported grade of the product. Shark fins, shark heads, shark tails, and shark bellies were not reported to live weight as these weights are included in the converted whole weight of the reported shark landing. Economic data provided with dealer submitted data(e.g., price per pound) was used to determine the ex-vessel value. Calculations of average prices by species and state were made for landings with a reported disposition of “Food”. Those average prices were used to replace records with a reported price per pound of “N/A”, 0, $0.01 or left blank. to determine landings revenue.

Graphs displaying landings data were generated in R for the Indicator Catalog. Confidential data not meeting the “rule of three” were excluded from graphs.

33.2 Methods 2020

33.2.1 Data sources

Data from eDealer database (https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/atlantic-highly-migratory-species/atlantic-highly-migratory-species-dealer-reporting) and Bluefin Tuna Dealer reports on SAFIS. The eDealer data were supplemented with GulfFIN records and vessel logbook catches for which no dealer reports were submitted.

33.2.2 Data extraction

Data were processed for Fisheries of the United States and then aggregated by regions to avoid confidentiality issues.

Data of Atlantic shark, swordfish, bigeye tuna, albacore tuna, yellowfin tuna and skipjack tuna were initially extracted from our eDealer database. Additional landings of these HMS not in eDealer were found in GulfFIN records. Bluefin tuna landings data from the Bluefin Tuna Dealer reports in SAFIS were also extracted and combined with the eDealer data for other HMS .

Procedures of quality assurance were conducted. Duplicate records were removed from the data. This may occur from multiple submissions of reports by the same dealer. It may also occur when two or more dealers report the same landings in “Packing” situations. While most vessels immediately sell their catch to the dealer at their port of landing, some vessels sell their catch to a dealer(s) in another location. Transport to alternate locations requires processing of the fish to preserve quality. This processing activity is done by the dealer at the port of landing and is referred to as “Packing”. Differences in federal and state definitions of who is considered the “dealer” of the product, and thus ultimately responsible for submitting the landings report, often results in multiple reports being created for the same landings. These duplicate reports need to be accounted for when summarizing the data to reflect accurate landings. Therefore, searches for duplicate reports of the same landing were conducted and eliminated prior to summarizing the data for the Fisheries of the United States.

Revenue from sales to the aquarium trade were also excluded to avoid extreme values associated with shipping live specimens.

All reported landings were converted to live weights using conversion ratios appropriate for the species/species group and reported grade of the product. Shark fins were not reported to live weight as these weights are included in the converted whole weight of the reported shark landing.

Price per pound was used to determine the ex-vessel value. For landings with prices per pound reported as “N/A”, 0, $0.01 or left blank, average prices were calculated for each species and state. Those averages replaced the missing values to determine landings revenue.

The extract only includes species with more than $1,000 in landings in the region for that year to avoid issues with data confidentiality. Other species landed include: tiger sharks, porbeagle, bonnethead, blacknose, blue, lemon, silky and smooth hammerhead sharks. However, these are not reported because of low volume and resulting data confidentiality issues.

33.2.3 Data analysis

High migratory landings include 19 species of tunas, sharks and swordfish (table 33.1).

Table 33.1: Table 33.2: Species included in the highly migratory species landings reported in the SOE.
Common.Name Scientific.Name
Bluefin Tuna Thunnus thynnus
Swordfish Xiphias gladius
Bigeye Tuna Thunnus obesus
Yellowfin Tuna Thunnus albacares
Shortfin Mako Shark Isurus oxyrinchus
Albacore Tuna Thunnus alalunga
Smooth Dogfish Shark Mustelus canis
Atlantic Sharpnose Shark Rhizoprionodon terraenovae
Thresher Shark Alopias vulpinus
Blacktip Shark Carcharhinus limbatus
Spinner Shark Carcharhinus brevipinna
Sandbar Shark Carcharhinus plumbeus
Great Hammerhead Shark Sphyrna mokarran
Finetooth Shark Aprionodon isodon
Skipjack Tuna Katsuwonus pelamis
Bull Shark Carcharhinus leucas
Tiger Shark Galeocerdo cuvier
Scalloped Hammerhead Shark Sphyrna lewini
Shark fins NA

Data were processed and analyzed using SAS and Microsoft Excel pivot tables. The count of records marked as confidential and the number of states represented in each regional species sum was used to determine if a sufficient number of records were available to make the data public or if it needed to be marked as confidential.

catalog link https://noaa-edab.github.io/catalog/hms_landings.html