| Summary: | In the past few years, large-scale, high-seas driftnet fishing has sparked intense debate and political conflict inmany oceanic regions. In the Pacific Ocean the driftnetcontroversy first emerged in the North Pacific transitionzone and subarctic frontal zone, where driftnet vesselsfrom Japan, the Republic of Korea, and Taiwan pursuetheir target species of neon flying squid. Other NorthPacific driftnet fleets from Japan and Taiwan target stocksof tunas and billfishes. Both types of driftnet fishing incidentally kill valued non-target species of marine life, including fish, mammals, birds, and turtles.In response to public concerns about driftnet fishing,government scientists began early on to assemble availableinformation and consider what new data were required to assess impacts on North Pacific marine resources and the broader pelagic ecosystem. Accordingly, a workshop was convened at the NMFS Honolulu Laboratory in May 1988 to review current information on the biology, oceanography, and fisheries of the North Pacific transition zone and subarctic frontal zone. The workshop participants, from the United States and Canada, also developed a strategic plan to guide NMFS in developing a program of driftnet fishery research and impact assessment.This volume contains a selection of scientific reviewpapers presented at the 1988 Honolulu workshop. Thepapers represent part of the small kernel of informationavailable then, prior to the expansion of cooperative international scientific programs. Subsequent driftnet fishery monitoring and research by the United States, Canada, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan have added much new data.Nevertheless, this collection of papers provides a historical perspective and contains useful information not readily available elsewhere. (PDF file contains 118 pages.)
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