Special Oceanography Seminar: Dr. Justin Suca*

*The speaker is a candidate for a faculty position in the Department of Oceanography.

“How does a dynamic ocean affect Hawaiʻi’s fish and fisheries in the face of a changing climate?”

Ocean conditions have long been known to influence the abundance and distribution of fished species throughout the globe. Hawaiʻi is no exception, where ʻike regarding how ocean and atmospheric conditions translate to catch has guided fishing for centuries. However, anthropogenic climate change is leading to novel conditions throughout the Pacific. These shifts make it difficult to understand how fisher access to and abundance of fished species may change in the coming decades. Here, I will discuss efforts to establish relationships between ocean conditions and fisheries taxa through empirical observations, statistical modeling, and use of hydrodynamic models. Specifically, I will focus on the drivers of catch rates for a range of species in Hawaiʻi’s shallow-set longline fishery. These factors include seasonal, lunar, and large to mesoscale oceanographic effects. I will also discuss emerging efforts to understand larval fish communities around Hawaiʻi. This work is conducted through both western and ‘ōiwi perspectives and aims to better understand how ocean dynamics affect the early life history of Hawaiʻi’s fishes—essential information for predicting climate impacts on fisheries. Collectively, these research efforts are important steps toward ensuring the sustainability of Hawaiʻi’s fishing communities, the populations of the species they target, and mitigating the impacts of the by-catch of these fisheries.

Monday, April 8, 2024, 12:45p.m., POST 723