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Seven of the twelve commercially important deep slope fish species in the Hawaiian Islands are snappers (Family Lutjanidae). Several of these species have been overexploited, which has prompted the initiation of research to improve the management of this fishery. As part of that effort, we recently conducted 3 dives in the Pisces V submersible to locate nursery grounds of these fish off the island of Oahu. The protocol for each dive was similar: the submersible descended to a depth of 1,000 ft, then surveyed along a predetermined transect line extending up to 400 ft. A bait stand containing a 50/50 mixture of smelt and squid was periodically deployed along the transect in an effort to attract juvenile snappers. Each of these stations was videotaped for twenty minutes in order to document the size and number of fish attracted to the bait. As a result of this study, we located and identified juveniles of two important snapper species: the ehu, Etelis carbunculus, and the kali kali, Pristipomoides sieboldii. Both species were associated with low relief carbonate reef formations found at approximately 900 and 600 ft depths, respectively. Ehu juveniles occurred as solitary individuals who sought cover upon the submersibles approach. In contrast, kali kali juveniles were found in a large school and were immediately attracted to the bait. In general, because of its range (1-3 miles), its ability to carry and deploy bait, and its standard equipment package (video and slide cameras, CTD, GPS tracking system, etc), we found the Pisces V submersible to be a suitable vehicle for obtaining important information on deepwater fishery resources.
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Last update on 9 March 1999